Slow start, Ohio’s second-chance shooting haunt Ball State in loss
By Connor Smith / January 23, 2021Whenever the Cardinals tried to catch up with the Bobcats, they couldn’t.
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.
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.
Bowling Green (7-1, 3-0 MAC) defeated Ball State (3-4, 1-2 MAC), walking away with an 89-55 victory. 89 points are the most given up from the Cardinals this year. In addition, the 34 point deficit is the largest loss for Ball State this season. Here are four takeaways from the loss.
The Cardinals lost their first game in Mid-American Conference play after falling to Ohio 78-68, and senior guard Ishmael El-Amin believes the difference was the first eight to 10 minutes.
Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns announced in a campus-wide email Jan. 2, 2021 that the episode of the "Peyton's Places" documentary series filmed on Ball State's campus in October 2020 will air on ESPN+ Jan. 3, 2021.
For just over three years, I refrained from singing the Ball State fight song at Scheumann Stadium — not because I wanted to, but because I needed to. Better yet, I chose to need to.
