In his seventh season as head coach of Lawrence Central High School boys’ basketball, Al Gooden made history. He became the first African American high school boys’ basketball coach in Indiana to reach 500 wins when the Bears defeated Decatur Central 58-38 in the Marion County Tournament Jan. 12.
Freeman is most remembered for her involvement in the turnaround of Central Noble High School Girls’ Basketball. The Cougars had not won more than five games since the 2009-10 season, but Freeman took the team from one of the worst in the state to one of the most dominant teams, beginning with her arrival in 2015. The Cougars finished 18-7 her freshman season before going 23-5 her junior season and 27-1 her senior season.
One team competed with more fight and will Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals were not that team.
Ball State Men's Basketball could not produce a complete game in its 88-79 loss to Akron. At the half, the Cardinals held a six-point lead. However, the script flipped in the second half when the Zips outscored the Cardinals 58-43 in the second half. Whitford liked what he saw in that first half but thinks the issue concerns the complete game as a whole.
Coming off of a 79-77 victory over Miami (Ohio) Saturday, the Cardinals returned to the court Wednesday night on the road and concluded their two-game road trip.
With just four games remaining on Ball State’s 2020-21 slate right now, here are four takeaways from Tuesday night’s loss.
The Cardinals got back in the win column, as Ball State (10-8, 8-6 MAC) secured a 79-77 victory over Miami-Ohio (2-17, 1-14 MAC).
Ball State (9-8, 7-6 MAC) lost 88-66 to Ohio (11-6, 9-5 MAC) in its annual “Think Pink” game. The Bobcats scored the opening basket to begin the game and never relinquished the lead through the final buzzer.
Hendriks’ parents, Rob and Leslie Hendriks, both played basketball through college, but they made him pick up ice hockey because no one in his family had ever played the sport. He first put on skates when he was just 18 months old.
For Coleman, anchoring the Cardinals’ comeback Saturday all began with improved communication with his teammates. He said it was the No. 1 factor that led to the Zips coming out of the gate early, which changed after his coach called a couple first-half timeouts.
As the old saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.” That quote resonated with Ball State (9-6, 7-4 MAC) Saturday night, as the team ended its five-game win streak and fell 89-84 in overtime to Akron (5-10, 2-10 MAC).
Head coach James Whitford knows Ball State remains a long way from reaching its absolute potential. But their absences didn't stop him from reflecting on the positives that came out of the loss.
Losing their third consecutive game, Whitford said the Cardinals’ struggles against the Zips all came down to a lack of one element: chemistry.
Obtaining their fourth consecutive win Saturday afternoon, the Cardinals showed one important trait key to a team’s success: toughness.
Coming off an injury two years ago, redshirt sophomore guard Anna Clephane’s consistency and toughness help Ball State in the tightest of games.
Led by a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) from RedHawks’ redshirt junior forward James Beck, Ball State (6-6, 4-3 MAC) couldn’t match Miami’s (5-4, 2-2 MAC) physicality the rest of the way in its 81-71 loss to Miami (Ohio).
However, just like they have routinely for weeks, the Cardinals didn’t let that get in their way against Northern Illinois (2-10, 1-6 MAC). Ball State used depth to its advantage in a 78-58 victory at Worthen Arena, completing a season sweep of the Huskies.
Statistically, the Cardinals played well enough to win. But in conference games, numbers do not always tell the story. In this matchup, the outcome came down to which side took more advantage of its possessions.
From the time the ball tipped to when the final buzzer sounded, the Cardinals were dialed in.
The NCAA announced Monday that this year’s 67 men’s basketball tournament games including the Final Four will be played entirely in Indiana.
