The Ball State University women's basketball team needed a big play at the end of its game against Central Michigan University on Sunday to steal one on the road.
It came from their smallest player.
Senior guard Kiley Jarrett stole a pass with 23 seconds remaining in the game and then scored on a breakaway lay-up to solidify another Mid-American Conference win against a West Division opponent when the Cardinals (18-8, 10-2 MAC) beat the Chippewas (14-12, 6-6 MAC) 71-67.
Coach Kelly Packard said experience comes to mind when thinking of Jarrett's play.
"She just really knew exactly where to position her body to make the pass a tough one," Packard said. "She denied the basketball like crazy back to the person she was guarding and she was able to get a hand on it and chase it down."
Though Packard said her team struggled with Central Michigan, she said she was proud of the key defensive stands in the last few possessions of the game.
Jarrett led the Cardinals with a career-high 21 points in 39 minutes of play. Seventeen of Jarrett's points came in the first half after she shot 5-8 from behind the arc in the first period.
"That's what stands out to me, the maturity and the experience, mainly of Porchia [Green] and Kiley that put them in positions that they were able to make big plays," Packard said.
Senior guard Porchia Green added 15 more points for the Cardinals and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for a double-double. Green also dished out five assists.
Neither team led by more than seven points in the game. The lead swapped nine times and there were seven ties.
Britni Houghton scored a game-high 23 points on 10-11 shooting for Central Michigan off the bench. She also had six rebounds and four assists.
Packard said the Cardinals were ready for Central Michigan's different defenses after seeing them on Jan. 14 when Ball State beat the Chippewas in Worthen Arena, 83-75.
"We had practiced those because we had seen a 2-3 zone, we had seen 1-3-1 half-court trap, we had seen 1-2-1-1 full-court pressure the first time we played them," Packard said. "We definitely knew because of that we would see a good variety of defenses...fortunately, especially in the first half, we shot the ball well."
Although Ball State had eight days to prepare for the match up against Central Michigan, they could not prepare for the Michigan weather and other mix-ups.
"We had weather issues [Saturday] night as we made the trip and there was some confusion in our hotel accommodations," Packard said. "Those things happen. When you are traveling with a large group, things happen from a travel standpoint. I think it was handled really well."
The Cardinals will stay in Michigan for another MAC West match-up against Eastern Michigan University at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the Convocation Center.
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