TOLEDO, Ohio ? The Ball State women's basketball team suffered its first Mid-American Conference loss of the season on Saturday night as the Cardinals dropped a 72-66 loss to Toledo at Savage Hall. The loss drops the Cardinals to 7-10 overall and into a three-way tie for first place in the MAC with a 3-1 conference record.
“Toledo did a good job of keeping the pace of the game where they wanted it to be,” acting head coach Lisa McDonald said. “We had too many mental mistakes and didn't take advantage of the opportunities that we had. We will learn from this loss and move forward as we continue conference play.”
Five different Cardinals scored in double figures in the loss for the Cardinals with the senior duo of Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) and Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) leading the way. Rusche led all Cardinals in scoring as she finished just shy of a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. DeMuth added 13 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
The Cardinals came out to start the game and got ahead quickly courtesy of Rusche and DeMuth. The post tandem combined to 11 of the Cardinals first 15 points as BSU opened on a 15-9 lead just six minutes into the game. DeMuth capped the early spurt with a three-pointer in transition.
Toledo (9-7, 2-2 MAC) responded with a 15-0 run as it took a 24-15 lead over the next four minutes of the half. The Cardinals regrouped as junior guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) nailed back-to-back three-pointers to narrow the BSU deficit to 24-21.
Ball State tried to pull even down the stretch but it could not get over the hump as each time the Cardinals pulled within a possession, the Rockets has an answer. DeMuth hit a pair of free throws with 49 seconds remaining to pull the Cardinals within five points at 37-32 heading into the halftime.
The Cardinals connected on 40 percent (12-of-30) from the field in the first half and 38.5 percent (three-of-eight) from three-point land. Toledo finished the half shooting 38.7 percent (12-of-31) from the field and just 16.7 percent (one-of-six) from long range. Toledo held the halftime lead on the strength of 12-of-15 (80%) shooting from the free throw line in the first half while the Cardinals went to the line just seven times in the opening frame.
DeMuth led the Cardinals in the first half with 11 points and five rebounds while Rusche added 10 first half rebounds and five boards. Junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) was limited to just two points as she had to sit for much of the first half due to foul trouble. Toledo was paced by Lisa Johnson as she scored eight points and grabbed a half-high eight rebounds.
The Cardinals came out of the break after a quick basket by Toledo and scored three straight baskets to pull within one at 39-38. Green and Rusche keyed the spurt with a pair of baskets in consecutive possessions. Toledo answered with an 11-2 run to extend the BSU deficit back to double figures.
Ball State continued to battle and pulled within five points with nine minutes remaining but Toledo once again responded with a spurt to give itself some breathing room. The Cardinals had one final push at the deficit as they posted a 13-4 run to pull within two points at 66-64. Green keyed the run as she scored eight points in the stretch, including a pair of three-pointers. Sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) also added a three-pointer in the stretch to force a Toledo timeout.
Ball State forced a Toledo miss but the Rockets were able to come away with the offensive rebound with a minute remaining to thwart the Cardinals' comeback. The Rockets connected on their free throws down the stretch to seal the victory over the Cardinals.
Ball State finished the game shooting 40.6 percent (26-of-64) from the field in the loss and 35.3 percent (six-of-17) from three-point land. The Cardinals hit just 61.5 percent (eight-of-13 from the free throw line while Toledo connected on 81.8 percent (18-of-22) from the charity stripe. The Rockets also hit 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the field in the victory.
Rusche finished the game shooting seven-of-12 from the field on her way to a team-high 16 points. DeMuth hit four-of-12 from the field in the loss but was a perfect four-of-four from the charity stripe.
Green added 12 points, six rebounds and five assists in the loss with most coming in the second half. Jarrett finished the night with 11 points as she was four-of-nine from the field, including two three-pointers.
Toledo was led by Tamesha Scotton as she returned from suspension to score 17 points off of the bench in her first appearance since late December. Johnson posted a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in the victory.
The Cardinals will wrap up their first turn through the MAC-West Division Wednesday night as they return home to Worthen Arena to host Central Michigan. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Comcast Local.
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