PHILADELPHIA, Pa. ? The Ball State women's basketball team dropped its first game of the season away from home as the Cardinals fell 72-48 to perennial Atlantic 10 power Temple at the Liacouras Center on Wednesday night. The loss drops the Cardinals to 3-3 overall on the season and snaps a two-game winning streak for BSU.
“We are obviously disappointed with our offensive game tonight as we just had an off shooting night,” seventh-year head coach Tracy Roller said. “We did a really good job of executing our game plan for two-thirds of the game, but we were unable to keep that execution during key points in the second half.”
Ball State struggle all night shooting as the Cardinals finished shooting just 28.6 percent (16-of-56) from the field. The Cardinals also lost the battle on the glass as Temple out-rebounded BSU 50-26 in the loss as Temple recorded 32 defensive rebounds.
The Cardinals came out of the gate slowly against the Owls as they only connected on just one of their first 16 shots from the field as Temple scored the first eight points of the half. Ball State regrouped as senior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) hit a three-pointer and the Cardinals pulled within two at 14-12 after a three-pointer from freshman forward Emily Maggert (Paris, Ill./Paris).
Temple again took advantage of the Cardinals' cold shooting in the first half and Ball State's early foul trouble in the post as the Owls score nine unanswered to take a 23-13 lead. The Cardinals settled in and closed the half on a 10-4 run to head into the locker room down 27-23.
Junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) ignited the spurt with a three-pointer and capped the run with a jumper on the Cardinals' final possession of the half. Sophomore guard Audrey McDonald also hit a three-pointer from the wing to pull the Cardinals within four at the break.
Ball State finished the first half shooting 25.8 percent (eigh-of-31) from the field. BSU was strong from three-point land as it hit four-of-nine (44.4%) in the opening frame. Green led the Cardinals in the first half with nine points, while also grabbing a game-high six rebounds.
Temple connected on 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from the field in the first half, including 25 percent (two-of-eight) from long range. The Owls were led by reserve forward Shanea Cotton as she scored 10 points as she took advantage of the Cardinals' foul trouble in the half. Temple also out-rebounded the Cardinals by a 27-17 advantage in the first half, but was forced into 10 turnovers by the Cardinal defense.
Temple came out of the break and scored the first six points off of back-to-back turnovers to extend the lead back to double figures. The Cardinals battled back to within eight as senior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) scored on three straight possessions down the floor. Temple responded with a 10-2 run to take a 50-33 lead.
The Cardinals continued to battle as they pulled back within 10 points on a McDonald three-pointer. The Owls once again turned in another spurt as they went on a 12-2 run to take the largest lead of the game at 63-43. Ball State never back down as the Cardinals continued to press trying to narrow the deficit but could not turn in the big run down the stretch.
The Cardinals finished the night shooting a season-low 28.6 percent (16-of-56) from the field. By contrast, Temple connected on 50 percent (29-of-58), including a season-best 42.1 percent (eight-of-19) from long range.
McDonald led the Cardinals in scoring and was the only player in double figures as she scored 11 points on three-of-10 shooting from the field. Green added nine points, seven rebounds and a game-high five assists. Rusche and junior guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) each added eight points in the loss. Maggert added six points as she was two-of-two from three-point land.
Temple (3-4) was led in scoring by guard Ashley Morris as she scored 13 points and connected on three-of-eight from three-point land. Cotton finished the game with 12 points while Lady Comfort added eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Cardinals will continue their road stretch on Saturday afternoon as they take part in the annual Hoosier Classic. The Cardinals are set to meet this year's host Valparaiso at 4:05 p.m. (ET) in the second game of the Hoosier Classic. Indiana State and Butler will meet in the first game on Saturday.
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