The women's basketball team fell behind in the first half on the road Saturday and could never recover.
Mid-American Conference West Division leader Eastern Michigan used a 16-4 run to close the first half and held on to beat Ball State University 69-58.
"They were very, very physical and that affected us a lot I thought," coach Tracy Roller said. "They are probably the most physical team we have played all year."
The Cardinals trailed by 22 points midway through the second half and were never able to get within a single digit deficit.
Ball State shot 45 percent from the floor, while Eastern was 51 percent. The Eagles used a zone defense that Roller said affected the team's play around the perimeter.
"I thought they played really good defense on our guards," Roller said. "They played a swarming zone for the majority of the game and it slowed our guards down."
Eastern Michigan (20-6,14-1 MAC)-áhad three players score at least 10 points and was led by Sarah VanMetre with 19.
Ball State (15-11, 8-7 MAC) committed 21 fouls in the contest. Eastern capitalized by making as many free throws as Ball State attempted (18).
"We weren't as active [defensively] as we have been in the past," Roller said. "They were pretty much going where they wanted to. They executed well and we didn't have the intensity and effort defensively to make them really have to work in their offense."
Raechelle Hampton led the Cards with 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting. She added four rebounds and two steals.
Kelsey Corbin and Julie DeMuth each scored 10 points and had five rebounds before fouling out.
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