Despite being called for a couple three-second violations for spending too much time in the lane, Ball State University's women's basketball players weren't about to abandon the paint area Saturday.
That's the region of the court in which the Cardinals earned their keep, surviving a late scare to snap their two-game losing streak with an 80-64 victory against the University of Akron. The win kept Ball State in a three-way tie for first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division.
The Zips had built confidence with their first two conference wins of the season prior to Saturday's game but trailed 19 points at intermission.
Ball State coach Lisa McDonald said she stressed the importance of getting out to a strong start to take Akron out of the game early.
"We talked before the game about how Akron's coming in with a lot of momentum," McDonald said. "We knew we needed to kill their momentum early. If they could carry that confidence from their last couple games that was going to be a problem for us, but if we could kill their momentum early and get our confidence and momentum early that would carry us through the game."
With the score tied in the opening minutes, Ball State scored 15 unanswered points to grab a 21-6 lead. The Cardinals' lead expanded to 20 early in the second half, but Akron battled back and trailed 65-60 with 3:19 remaining in regulation.
"Akron made some shots and did the things to get back into the game," sophomore Audrey McDonald said. "All MAC teams are going to make runs to get back into the game. It's whether or not you punch back and get through it."
Ball State responded with nine straight points to push its advantage to 14 with 1:31 remaining in the game.
Lisa McDonald said her team's propensity to bounce back after a team makes a run has been one of the keys throughout the Cardinals' six MAC wins this season.
"What I'm most proud of [with] this team is the way they respond to adversity in all kinds of situations," she said. "The way we responded to our two losses today was huge, and the way we responded to Akron hitting some big shots in the second half was huge."
Senior forward Lisa Rusche led Ball State with 20 points and 10 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season. Junior Porchia Green and freshman Emily Maggert also scored in double figures, both finishing with 14.
Ball State outscored the Zips 40-28 in the paint and held a 47-20 rebounding edge.
"I don't know if this is the best we've played in the post this season," Rusche said, "but it's definitely up there."
Saturday's victory concluded a stretch of four home games in five contests. Ball State won three of those four home games.
The Cardinals will travel to Miami University on Wednesday to play the RedHawks, who feature the nation's sixth-leading scorer, Amanda Jackson.
Lisa McDonald said finishing the home stand with a win was crucial in moving forward with the remainder of the season.
"Miami is playing really well right now, and they have some great athletes," she said. "We needed a game like this to get back on that track and get back to what Ball State basketball is all about."
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