The Ball State University women's basketball team required an extra five minutes Tuesday night to win a rare mid-January non-conference game.
Ball State defeated the University of North Dakota 88-80 in overtime to improve the Cardinals' home record to 9-1 and 13-7 overall. The victory kept Ball State perfect in overtime in three tries this season.
Ball State was able to overcome shooting 3-19 on 3-pointers in the first half to enter the locker room down 39-36. Junior forward Danielle Gratton led all scorers with 17 points and seven points in the opening half. The University of Illinois transfer was wearing a face mask for the second game as a result of breaking her nose Jan. 21.
"She's a tough girl," junior guard Audrey McDonald said. "She fights through it every day. She had it bloody again tonight and she played through it."
Gratton suffered from foul trouble in the second half and scored four points after halftime. But her 21 points were good enough to set a career high.
In the second half McDonald and the Cardinals picked up their 3-point shooting as the team established an inside-out game.
"Coach told us to keep shooting," McDonald said. "But the goal was to get the ball inside to [sophomore forward] Emily [Maggert] and we did."
McDonald scored all 14 of her points after halftime. After missing five 3-pointers in the first half, she finished shooting 4-11 from behind the arc.
"We knew coming in that [McDonald's] a heck of a shooter," North Dakota coach Geno Roebuck said. "She knocked down shots in the second half that she needed to make."
Maggert benefited from increased chances and scored 19 points after halftime. Maggert finished with 23 points, leading the Cardinals.
The Fighting Sioux were led by junior guard Kayla Bagaason, who had a career-high 27 points. Sophomore guard Mallory Youngblut added 14 points and seven rebounds.
Both teams had a chance to win the game in the final 30 seconds of regulation game play. Ball State settled for an NBA-range 3-pointer from McDonald as the shot clock expired. North Dakota's final shot was blocked by Gratton with two seconds left.
The Fighting Sioux had to scramble to be in a position to win the game. The visitors scored the final five points in regulation play and went on a 9-2 run to end the second half.
In overtime, Kayla Kimbrough - North Dakota's leading scorer - fouled out with 2:54 remaining in the second half. The Fighting Sioux lost junior forward Whitney Ledger in overtime when she was ejected after a double technical.
"Our player got called and then pushed their player," Roebuck said. "That's unfortunate but we're going to deal with that internally. That's something that should not happen on our part."
This is North Dakota's first season at the Division I level. The team has logged 18,240 miles on roadtrips this so far.
Ball State coach Kelly Packard said the game was a late addition to the schedule, after accepting an invitation to the Preseason Women's National Invitational Tournament put the Cardinals above the maximum number of games.
"I stressed getting better," Packard said. "At this point in the season you have to improve. I didn't want to sit dormant for a week."
Ball State will return to Mid-American Conference action Saturday, when Miami University visits Muncie.
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