KENT, Ohio ? The Ball State women's basketball team dropped its second straight Mid-American Conference game on Saturday afternoon as the Cardinals fell to Kent State 69-54 at the M.A.C. Center. The loss drops the Cardinals to 10-14 overall on the season and 6-5 in MAC play, while Kent State improves to 7-16 overall and 4-7 in conference action.
Ball State struggled offensively for the second straight game as the Cardinals connected on just 32.2 percent (19-of-59) from the field in the loss and just 22.2 percent (four-of-18) from three-point land. The Cardinals also committed 18 turnovers which turned into 21 points for the Golden Flashes.
The Cardinals found success early in the game down low as senior forward Lisa Ruche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) and freshman forward Emily Maggert (Paris, Ill./Paris) combined to score BSU's first six points of the game. The two teams battled back and forth for the first 10 minutes of the half until junior guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) nailed a three-pointer from the corner to give Ball State a 14-11 lead.
Kent State answered with eight straight points to force a Ball State timeout as the Golden Flashes took a 19-14 lead. Ball State responded in the final eight minutes with a 9-2 run to re-take the lead and head into the locker room with a 23-21 lead. The Cardinals held their ground despite being without junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) for the final seven minutes due to early foul trouble.
The Cardinals received big minutes off of the bench in the first half as freshman Shannon Klei (Coldspring, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) played 11 minutes and junior Dana Moorman (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont) added 10 minutes of action in the first half. Ball State was also without the services of senior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) as she missed the game due to injury.
Ball State connected on just 32.1 percent (nine-of-28) from the field in the opening frame and just 12.5 percent (one-of-eight) from three-point land. Maggert paced the Cardinals in the first half with seven points while Rusche pulled down a half-high six rebounds. Kent State hit just 25 percent (seven-of-28) from the field and 33.3 percent (three-of-nine) from three-point land.
Maggert came out in the second half and scored on the Cardinals' first possession to give Ball State its largest lead of the game at 25-21. Kent State answered with a 10-2 run to force a Cardinal timeout. Ball State rallied and pulled back within two points at 38-36 as Rusche scored on back-to-back possessions for the Cardinals.
Kent State delivered a crucial blow to the Cardinals as it scored 12 straight points to open up a 50-36 lead. Ball State pulled back within nine points as Jarrett nailed a three-pointer but the Golden Flashes turned in a 13-3 run to seal the victory.
Kent State shot 65.4 percent (17-of-26) from the field in the second half as it out-scored Ball State by a 48-31 margin in the second frame. The Golden Flashes hit four-of-six three-pointers in the second half and finished the game seven-of-15 (46.7%) for the game.
In contrast, the Cardinals made just 10 field goals in the second half as they hit just 32.3 percent from the field. Maggert led the Cardinals in scoring in her second career start as she scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Rusche added 11 points and nine rebounds in the loss while sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) chipped in 11 points.
Kent State was led by Rachel Bennett as she scored a game-high 21 points on eight-of-14 shooting. Chenel Harris chipped in a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Ellie Shields added 17 points and nine rebounds in the Kent State victory.
The Cardinals will return home Tuesday night when they head back into MAC-West Division play as they welcome in Toledo for a 7 p.m. contest at Worthen Arena.
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