Ball State University Athletics
Cardinal Women Fall at Eastern Michigan
February 25, 2006 | Women's Basketball
For most of the first seven minutes, the teams played their usual style versus one another - matching basket for basket. Eastern Michigan took a lead it would not surrender on Sarah VanMetre's jumper in the paint 2:40 into the game. The Eagles boosted their advantage to seven points after two quick baskets at the 8:50 mark, but the Cardinals reeled off five straight, including a pair of buckets by Raechelle Hampton to slice their deficit to just three points at 21-18 with 6:36 left. From there it was all Eastern Michgan. The Eagles scored 16 of the final 20 points in the half, including the first two-pointer of the game for MAC Player of the Year candidate Ryan Coleman 14:18 into the event.
EMU was a hot-handed 58.3 (14-of-24) from the field over the first 20 minutes, including a pair of 3-pointers plus 7-of-8 from the line. The Cardinals were held to a cooler 39.1 (9-of-23) percent from the floor plus a 4-of-6 showing from the line. Hampton had 10 points to lead BSU, while VanMetre had 11 to top EMU, which posted a 16-8 dominance on the boards.
Eastern Michigan opened the second half on fire, going up by as many as 22 points midway through the period. The Cardinals took advantage of a three-minute scoring drought by the hosts to cut their deficit to 11 points at 56-45 with just under five minutes remaining. EMU answered with a 3-pointer by VanMetre and two free throws by Coleman to go back up by 16. The closest BSU would get from that point was 11 points for the final margin of defeat.
Hampton led a trio of Ball State players who scored in double figures with her 16 points. Kelsey Corbin and Julie DeMuth added 10 each. DeMuth also pulled down a team-leading six rebounds.
VanMetre led all scorers with 19 points. Patrice McKinney and Coleman added 12 and 10 points, respectively, for Eastern Michigan.
EMU converted more than 50 percent (24-of-47) of their field goals and was 18-of-24 from the line. BSU made good on 45 percent (23-of-51) of its field goals and was 10-of-18 from the line. The Eagles were held to just three 3-pointers, while BSU had two. EMU won the battle of the boards 33-25.
"We showed a lot of heart tonight," BSU head coach Tracy Roller said. "We did a good job on Coleman, but the rest of the team killed us. We couldn't stop them offensively. This is a tough place to play and tough team to beat."
Ball State wraps up its regular season Tuesday when it hosts Northern Illinois at 7 p.m.
