CLEVELAND, Ohio ? The Ball State women's basketball team suffered a 67-53 loss to 18th ranked Bowling Green in the 2007 Kraft Mid-American Conference Tournament Finals on Saturday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena. The loss drops the Cardinals to 24-6 overall on the season while Bowling Green improves to 29-3 overall and gives the Falcons the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“We are disappointed in the outcome of the game today. We really felt like we had an opportunity to do something special,” head coach Tracy Roller said. “They played really well offensively and we got in a position where we would get close, but we never able to get over the hump.”
Ball State will now await its postseason fate as the Cardinals look to secure an at-large berth in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is scheduled for Monday night on ESPN at 8 p.m.
“We are a very special team and we are having a very special season,” Roller said. “We have done everything that we can to put ourselves into position to be one of the top 64 teams in the country. This is the season that the MAC deserves to have two teams make the NCAA Tournament.”
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop H.S.) led the Cardinals in the loss as she scored 15 points. She connected on four-of-10 from the field and was seven-of-10 from the free throw line in the game. She became the 17th player in Ball State history to reach the 1,000-career point mark with a basket in the second half and the first player since former standout Kate Endress to join the elite company.
Ball State struggled from the field in the game as the Cardinals connected on just 18-of-53 (34%) in the game. Bowling Green was on fire on the offensive end as the Falcons connected on 28-of-46 (60.9%) from the field in the game to overcome 20 turnovers.
The Cardinals came out cold in the first half as they only connected on just one of their first 11 shots from the field as the Falcons jumped out to an early 18-5 lead. Ball State weathered the early storm and responded with an 11-3 run of its own to pull within five at 21-16.
Corbin was the catalyst in the early spurt as she scored six points in the run, including four-of-four free throws. Sophomore guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington H.S.) spark the run with the Cardinals' lone three-pointer of the half.
Bowling Green closed the half on an 8-2 run to go into the locker room with a 31-18 lead. The Cardinals connected on just five-of-21 (23.8%) from the field in the first half and committed 11 turnovers. The Falcons took the early lead thanks in large part to their 60.9 percent (14-of-23) shooting from the field in the opening frame.
The Falcons came out of the gate from halftime and extended their lead to 19 points at 43-24. The Cardinals responded with six straight points to force a BGSU timeout as freshman forward Kalynne Proctor (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Regina H.S.) scored on a fast break basket after Green came away with a steal.
Once again, the Falcons had an answer for the Cardinals' spurt as they ran off eight straight points to take their largest lead of the afternoon at 51-30. Ball State was able to pull within 13 on a couple of occasions in the second half but couldn't get over the hump.
Freshman guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo H.S.) keyed the Cardinals' comeback attempts as she hit two three-pointers in a two minute span of the second half. Corbin pulled BSU within 15 at 63-48 with an old-fashioned three-point play, but Bowling Green was able to keep the lead in double figures to close out its third straight MAC Tournament title.
Green finished the night with 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals as she played all 40 minutes in the loss. She connected on three-of-four from three-point land in the game as the Cardinals hit five-of-13 (38.5%) from three-point land. Junior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills H.S.) scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds as she was limited because of foul trouble.
Junior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) was also limited due to foul trouble as she finished with seven points and six rebounds. She picked up MAC All-Tournament honors for her play in the Cardinals' run to the finals. She becomes the first BSU player to pick up All-Tournament accolades since 2003 when Tamara Bowie and Kate Endress were named to the team.
Bowling Green was led in scoring by MAC Player of the Year Ali Mann as she scored 20 points on eight-of-13 shooting from the field. Guard Kate Achter added 18 points as four BGSU players scored in double figures.
The Cardinals will wait for the postseason fate on Monday night to see if they will receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament or an invitation into the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
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