Clephane's resilience, toughness help spur Ball State's success
By Evan Weaver / January 28, 2021Coming off an injury two years ago, redshirt sophomore guard Anna Clephane’s consistency and toughness help Ball State in the tightest of games.
Coming off an injury two years ago, redshirt sophomore guard Anna Clephane’s consistency and toughness help Ball State in the tightest of games.
Ball State (7-5, 5-3 MAC) defeated Miami (Ohio) (1-13, 0-10 MAC) 85-82. The Cardinals led by as many as 18 points in the first quarter. Their lead quickly evaporated when Miami stepped up its offense and challenged the Cardinals defensively. That would continue the rest of the game.
Despite lockdowns, canceled flights and travel bans, Wietske Overdijkink still found time to get up and go to work.
Despite returning all of its players and adding four freshmen, Ball State struggled in every match against Louisville, getting swept 7-0 and failing to win a single set for the first time since April 22, 2018, in a conference matchup against Buffalo.
Taking the floor Sunday afternoon for its season opener, Ball State defeated Central Michigan 193.50-192.375 in its first competition since March 8, 2020, after COVID-19 canceled its final three meets last season.
13 months later and Ball State Women’s Volleyball (2-0, 2-0 MAC) looks to defend its 2019 Mid-American Conference championship. They are off to a successful start, as they defeated Akron (0-2, 0-2 MAC) in the first two matches of the season.
Whenever the Cardinals tried to catch up with the Bobcats, they couldn’t.
It had been exactly 321 days since Ball State last stepped on the court against an opponent that was not its own players.
Ball State Women’s basketball (6-5, 4-3 MAC) returned to the court after its string of cancellations and captured a 68-64 road victory against Eastern Michigan (8-6, 5-4 MAC).
After a 12-6 2020 campaign cut short by nine matches dashed hopes of a potential NCAA Tournament bid due to COVID-19, Ball State Men’s Volleyball is entering 2021 with the same aspirations it had a year ago.
It had been nearly 10 months since Ball State Men’s Tennis stepped onto the court against an opponent, so it was to be expected the Cardinals would look a little rusty going into their doubleheader against Notre Dame — a team that already had two games under its belt.
The Cardinals return 11 players from 2019, with six of them being sophomores. These 11 players were part of the core that won the 2019 MAC Championship in a five-set victory against Bowling Green.
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).
The Cardinals committed 18 turnovers which marks the second game this season turnovers made a difference, as they gave away 20 in a 67-57 loss against Indiana State on Dec. 19.
During Saturday’s match against the University of Indianapolis, senior diver Caitlin Locante broke the program record on the 3M board with a score of 323.625. She passed the 318.67 score that Whitney Adams recorded back for the Cardinals in 2012.
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.
Ball State Women’s Basketball (5-5, 3-3 MAC) went on the road and stole a victory against Ohio (5-4, 3-3 MAC), 88-85.
After coming off of a 86-69 loss against Buffalo, the Cardinals traveled to Bowling Green and snapped its five-game winning streak with an 88-64 win.
The Cardinals were without redshirt junior forward Miryne Thomas and sophomore guard Jalen Windham due to COVID-19 protocols in Ball State’s 86-69 loss to Buffalo (4-3, 2-1 MAC). These absences added to an already injured team.
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.
