The clock read 0:13 with Ball State trailing by a basket, when freshman guard Shelbie Justice was fouled and went to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game.
Justice hit the first shot to bring Ball State within one point of Western Michigan. But the second shot deflected off the rim and ultimately cost Ball State (9-18, 4-10) the game, as Western Michigan came away with the 67-65 victory in Worthen Arena.
"The game was pretty much on the [line] with that," Justice said. "That was just a lot of pressure on me. I should've knocked it down, I should've thought ... I don't know. I shouldn't have been like, ‘this is the game.' I should've just thought, ‘this is another free throw, just shoot it.' Too much thinking."
The outcome didn't sit well with coach Kelly Packard, especially after Ball State's performance against Central Michigan on Sunday.
"We played so hard and so well on Sunday, and replicating that same type of energy was the goal tonight," Packard said. "We didn't get it done until really late in the game, and we just can't do that. Every team's hungry this time of year."
The Cardinals trailed by as many as 13 points at the midway point of the second half before rallying back. Justice nailed a mid-range jumper to pull the Cardinals within seven points of the Broncos with 5:16 remaining in the game.
With under three minutes to play, senior co-captain forward Suzanne Grossnickle trimmed the visitors lead to two with a layup. Following a quick score by the Broncos on their next offensive possession, Grossnickle converted on another layup. But the last-minute effort wasn't enough to overcome 18 turnovers and 37 missed shots.
"I don't think I performed well," Grossnickle said. "I missed a lot of easy shots."
Ball State's inability to convert uncontested shots into points wasn't the only statistic that plagued them. Western Michigan's explosive offense, which shot nearly 45 percent for the game, proved to be too much for the home team to overcome.
"I think obviously their [defensive] pressure bothered us and created a lot of turnovers and ultimately, we just didn't get aligned quickly enough and that caused issues," Packard said.
Following Justice's missed free throw, Packard went over to her young player and reminded her that the game wasn't lost on the missed free throw.
"The first thing I said to her [was] that [this] game doesn't ride on your shoulders," Packard said. "There were a lot of missed opportunities throughout the game. [Shelbie] feels badly about it — worse than anybody — but she needs to know it's a team [game]. At some point there, we missed defensive assignments, we missed coverage and transition defense."
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