Oxford, Ohio - Kiley Jarrett received the outlet pass and pushed the ball up the court on an open fast break.
Just before passing to Lisa Rusche, however, Ball State University's point guard lost control of her dribble, turning the ball over to Miami University. It was that type of night for the Ball State's women's basketball team.
In a game that featured two teams atop their respective divisions, Ball State failed to compete from the opening tip. The Cardinals dropped their fourth Mid-American Conference game of the year, losing 69-58 after a 16-point win in their previous game.
Following the defeat, acting head coach Lisa McDonald said, she and the Cardinals' players discussed the team's season-long trend of inconsistent play and the lack of energy they played with throughout the contest.
"We can't be one team one night and then a completely different team the next night," McDonald said. "We have to find that consistency in ourselves that we are the same, day in and day out. In every practice and every game we need to be the same team. It starts with our energy and starts with our focus - all those things that go into making a championship team."
Ball State didn't connect on its first field goal of the game until a Rusche layup with 14:44 remaining in the first half. Miami followed the Cardinals' first two points with nine unanswered, jumping out to a 17-2 advantage slightly more than seven minutes into the opening half.
"We talked about coming out with a great start and great energy, but instead they punched first and put us on our heels," McDonald said. "That's really the most disappointing part. We've got to find out what it is that's causing our starts to not be so great, and we need to get that fixed right away."
Ball State used its defensive stopper, junior guard Porchia Green, to defend the RedHawks' leading scorer, Amanda Jackson, for most of the night. Despite Green's efforts, Jackson finished with 25 points on the night on a combination of 3-pointers, inside buckets and slashes to the basket.
Green, who recorded her fourth double-double with team-highs 19 points and 12 rebounds, said she wasn't happy with her individual numbers because of her defensive play on Jackson.
"When I saw her final point total I was just like, 'Oh my goodness,'" Green said. "I take pride in keeping the girl I'm guarding from scoring hers, and obviously she scored a lot. I need to execute and defend better."
Ball State's offense traditionally generates from points off the opposition's turnovers. However, Miami won the turnover battle 17-8 and outscored the Cardinals 21-6 on those extra opportunities.
"It could've been a close game without those turnovers," Green said. "We've got to get stronger with the ball and not let anybody take us out of our space. We need to be aggressive and execute offensively. I give credit to Miami for being aggressive and coming out with great defense like that."
After beating Bowling Green State University in its first game against MAC East competition this season, Ball State has lost three of its last four games against east opponents. Miami maintained a tie atop the East Division with a 7-3 conference record, while Ball State dropped to third in the West Division with a 6-4 mark in the MAC.
McDonald said her team's chief objective during the remainder of this conference season is to establish consistent play before the MAC Tournament.
"We have six games before Cleveland, [the site of the MAC Tournament] to find that consistency," McDonald said.
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