Ball State Women's Basketball (7-17, 2-10 MAC) defensive performance Saturday wasn’t enough as Eastern Michigan (11-12, 4-8 MAC) defeated the Cardinals in a nail-biter that came down to the last seconds 56-53. Here are 4 takeaways from the back-and-forth battle.
Defense is back
After a rough stretch on the defensive end, the Cardinals responded Saturday with a solid performance protecting the rim.
Ball State held Eastern Michigan to just 41 percent from the field as a team and held the Eagles leading scorer, senior guard Danielle Minott, who averages about 14 points per game, to just one field goal made holding her to just five total points. However, it happened to be the one that gave Eastern Michigan the advantage in the closing minute.
The Cardinals were able to force the Eagles to make a lot of mistakes on the offensive end with their added pressure. Eastern Michigan committed 24 total team turnovers. Ball State came up with 16 steals as a unit.
Howard-Bass finds her rhythm
Both offenses struggled to ever get going consistently throughout the contest, but the Cardinals sophomore guard Maliah Howard-Bass led the game in scoring with a career-high 20 points.
Things were falling for her from deep as she knocked down four 3-pointers in the game and took advantage when she was sent to the free throw line making 6-6.
Only one other player was able to touch double-digit points for Ball State as senior guard Jasmin Samz added 13 points.
Late game execution
It was another game down to the wire and if a few things went the Cardinals way they could’ve came out on top. However, it wasn’t the case and the Eagles were able to finish their job.
With about two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter Cardinals sophomore guard Oshlynn Brown gave Ball State the 53-52 edge after a bucket inside the paint. But Minott responded with a huge 3-point shot in the final minute giving Eastern Michigan the 55-53 lead. The Cardinals struggled to score the point they needed with a few missed opportunities and turnovers hurt them at the end.
Headed back home
It was an unfortunate two-game road stretch for the Cardinals as they weren’t able to snap the losing trend. After the loss on Saturday, Ball State finds themselves on their longest losing streak this season dropping six straight.
The loss moved the Cardinals to last place in the MAC West and second to last of the overall MAC. Ball State will get a chance to redeem themselves with a three straight home games where they have won six of their seven wins this season.
Contact Daric Clemens with any comments at diclemens@bsu.edu or on Twitter @DaricClemens
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