Brandy Woody and Shanee’ Jackson sat in utter silence, seemingly in shock at what had happened a few minutes earlier.
Ball State erased a 16 point second half deficit against 21-2 Toledo using deep three pointers from Jackson and Brittany Carter, and then took the lead on a pair of free throws from Woody as Worthen Arena erupted in noise.
Just a few minutes later, Toledo took the lead back and won 68-64, leaving players stunned and shaken at what had just happened.
It was Ball State’s seventh game this season that was decided by five points or less. The team’s record in those games is 3-4.
Jackson and Woody led Ball State with 17 and 15 points respectively, with most of those points coming in the second half. Ball State trailed by 16 at halftime, and had scored just 21 points.
They more than doubled that by scoring 43 in the second half, but it wasn’t enough. The Cardinals failed to get stops on defense early in the second half, which made the climb uphill even greater.
“Toledo came out and punched us in the mouth a little bit and we staggered,” coach Brady Sallee said. “You just can’t do that against a good basketball team and expect to win.”
Against the strongest defensive team in the Mid-American Conference, Ball State committed 22 turnovers and played the end of the game with just six active players. For a few minutes, it was only five, because Taylor Miller went down with a left knee injury, Katie Murphy limped off the court after hurting her ankle, and Shelbie Justice fouled out.
A team that’s been on the winning and losing side multiple times, Sallee hopes that games like these help build down the road. Although close losses are painful, they can provide valuable experience to coaches and players.
Sallee also said that although the loss hurts, it isn’t something that can be dwelled on.
“For us, we’re going to have to play next Saturday anyway, that doesn’t change,” Sallee said.
Woody thinks the loss will only motivate her to work harder.
“Knowing that we were so close to being No. 1, and that we deserve to be up there,” Woody said. “Nothing more would make me want to go to work than that.”
Ball State sits in second place in the MAC West at 8-2, owning the tiebreaker over Central Michigan.
Jackson was disappointed by the loss, but is glad there’s more basketball left to be played. A senior, Jackson’s days of wearing the Ball State uniform are numbered, especially her home games.
“We definitely wanted to win but we came short,” Jackson said. “[We] definitely have to work on some things still, but we’re all still in it.”
Woody stressed that although the loss is tough, there will be more chances against Toledo. Ball State will face them in the season finale, and could potentially play them again in the MAC tournament, which starts in just a few weeks.
Despite the loss, Sallee was proud of how his team responded to the adversity. Some teams may have crumpled at halftime, and been blown out, but he said his team showed heart when their backs were against the wall.
“This team’s not going to get knocked down, and definitely not going to get knocked out,” Sallee said.
Woody and Jackson looked up, and nodded in agreement.
