BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Pat Summitt came in to E.A. Diddle Arena on Sunday with eight national championships, seven national coach of the year awards, 1,005 career wins and 192 career losses.
She left with 193.
The Ball State University women's basketball team upset the two-time defending NCAA Champion University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers 71-55 on Sunday in E.A. Diddle Arena.
As thousands of orange shirts flooded the exits, the Ball State women's basketball team crowded center court to cheer and thank the Ball State fans that made the trip to Western Kentucky University.
In Ball State's first NCAA appearance in program history, the 12th-seeded Cardinals defeated the fifth-seeded Lady Vols to advance to the second round to face Iowa State University on Tuesday.
This is Tennessee's first loss in the first - or second - round in the NCAA tournament in program history.
Ball State senior guard Porchia Green said that her team came out and stayed focused.
"We came out and gave it our all and played to the best of our ability, stayed focused and sticked to the scouting and we came out with a pretty good outcome," Green said.
Green was named the player of the game. She had 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in 34 minutes of play.
Ball State coach Kelly Packard said she was thinking about one thing after the win.
"Pride," Packard said. "Pride in these young women. I just think the humbleness of watching them get together in May and to grow and to build something so special. That's the fun for me, you know the fact that we're pretty darn skilled and have fun together is awesome. I would walk away with the relationships in a heartbeat."
Packard, in her first season as a head coach, has now won a Mid-American Conference Championship and now a first round win in the NCAA tournament.
"To put it all together, to put competitiveness at a very high level, with an opponent that you only dream of playing, and get to go out and do what they just did, I mean, it's going to take us until, I'm not sure. It's going to take us a really long time to get our minds around the accomplishments that they've been able to do," she said.
All five starters for Pat Summitt are six-feet or taller. With such an advantage in wingspan, Ball State was able to get looks with its screening.
"Well, Pat Summitt gave us a compliment, we have great screening action, and we just used it to the best of our ability," Green said. "Screens is what gets you open, we had to sprint hard off of them, get there quickly, and execute our plays."
Sophomore forward Emily Maggert picked up her third foul early in the second half, but Packard trusted her starters.
"We have a real solid rotation," Packard said "Our starters have played a lot of minutes and I know that gives us some security. It gives us some consistency on the floor, which is that security and this was no time to back down from something that you've done all season long."
Ball State came out in the second half and struggled the first six minutes until Green turned a steal into a 3-point play to stop the scoring drought.
In the first half, Ball State played Tennessee's big effectively by doubling down off perimeter players, holding the Lady Volunteers' bigs to less than 40 percent shooting.
Free throws late for Tennessee wouldn't fall while Ball State took advantage of the charity stripe. Ball State, the ninth best free throw percentage in the NCAA, made 16-of-20 free throws.
"Tonight was a night that Ball State was better than Tennessee," Summitt said.
HistoryThe women's basketball team's win on Sunday was Ball State's athletics department's sixth NCAA Tournament victory in the last 20 years.
2009: Women's basketball def. Tennessee in the first round2006: Baseball def. Kentucky 3-1 in the regionals1995: Women's volleyball def. Loyola in the first round1994: Women's volleyball def. Illinois in the first round1990: Men's basketball def. Louisville in the second round1990: Men's basketball def. Oregon State in the first round
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