Road games test teams in unmanageable ways. Sometimes the road can become a little house of horrors where everything seems to go wrong.
While not necessarily the case for Ball State University this season, the road hasn't exactly been kind. Entering Tuesday's matchup with Central Michigan University, Ball State was 3-5 on the road. The Cardinals again suffered a set back on the road with an 86-80 loss.
"Containing their penetration was a concern for us with their quickness," coach Kelly Packard said. "We prepared for it and for having to rotate defensively, but we were a step late in some of the rotations. Our commitment to contain the ball, even one-on-one, wasn't to the level we were capable of. We didn't have the commitment to defend the ball. It certainly wasn't a defensive battle tonight."
The loss drops Ball State back below .500 at 7-8, 2-1. It also knocks the Cardinals from a share of the lead in the MAC West.
The loss, a disappointing one for the Cardinals, came despite a 23 point, 12 rebound effort from junior forward Emily Maggert. Maggert, an emerging All-Mid-American Conference Player of the Year candidate, eclipsed the 1,000 point mark in her career with just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half and continued to be an offensive threat throughout the game.
"Coach Packard mentioned earlier today and a couple days ago that I was four points away," Maggert said. "I was relieved I didn't have to worry about it anymore after scoring it. It was like any other game for me though. I was more focused on winning the game than anything. I do want to thank my teammates for making it easy for me to score and getting me the ball so I can score."
Despite Maggert's double-double, her eighth of the 15 games played this season, the Cardinals could not recover from a first-half deficit.
"They switched from three-quarters court pressure to half-court trap and that got them a lot of steals and easy baskets," Maggert said. "We stopped making shots after that when we turned the ball over. That gave them the momentum."
A couple buckets early from seniors Audrey McDonald and Danielle Gratton got the Cardinals off to a good start, but then the Chippewas cranked up the pressure defensively and went on their big offensive run to take a 50-39 lead at the break.
"I wasn't happy with the offense either," Packard said. "We had lightened the turnover number the last couple games, committing only 12, but in key situations, when we were making a run we turned the ball. We turned the ball over in crucial situations, not really from defensive pressure or anything, just from not seeing something or trying to create something."
Central Michigan out shot Ball State 50 percent to 40.9 percent, while both teams played turnover-plagued offense. The two teams combined for 35 turnovers.
"It was quite difficult to guard them," Maggert said. "They all can drive and they all can shoot the 3, so we had to stay at home to take away the drive and it made for easy baskets at times when they'd just pull up and shoot."
With only a few minutes remaining in the game, Ball State managed to put together a run and pulled within four points. That was as close as the Cardinals would get however. As Ball State attempted to extend the game, Central Michigan hit their free throws to ice the game.
"We were confident we were going to be able to continue the run, but didn't get the stops," Maggert said. "It was really frustrating for all of us because we weren't able to get the stops we needed to get those four points back."
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