MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State women's basketball team dropped its second straight Mid-American Conference game as the Cardinals fell to Buffalo 73-62 on Sunday afternoon at Worthen Arena. The loss drops the Cardinals to 9-12 overall on the season and 5-3 in MAC play to remain in second place a game out of first in the MAC-West Division.
“We didn't come out today with the intensity and spark that we needed against a good Buffalo team,” acting head coach Lisa McDonald said. “We have a week of practices to find that spark and get back to playing 40 minutes of Ball State Basketball.”
Senior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) was one of three Cardinals in double figures in the loss as she posted her third double-double of the season and 27th of her career. DeMuth scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in the loss. The three players in double figures marks a single game low for the Cardinals in MAC play so far this season.
The Cardinals were out-numbered on the glass against Buffalo as the Bulls held a 46-34 advantage in rebounds. Buffalo tallied 14 offensive rebounds in the game, including nine in the first half as it scored 18 second chance points in the victory. Ball State was held to just 36.9 percent (24-of-65) shooting in the loss and just 26.3 percent (five-of-19) from three-point land.
Buffalo (11-10, 4-4 MAC) came out of the gate quickly against the Cardinals as it held an early 10-4 lead through the first eight minutes of the game. Sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) nailed a three-pointer to pull the Cardinals within three points before the game took a turn for the worse.
McDonald went down with an injury soon after her three-pointer and was lost for the rest of the game. Buffalo broke the game open with a 12-2 run over the ensuing four minutes as the Cardinals battled through the loss of a starter.
After a BSU timeout, the Cardinals posted a 7-2 run to pull within eight points at 26-18. Freshman forward Emily Maggert (Paris, Ill./Paris) started the spurt with a basket down low. Junior guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) nailed a three-pointer in transition off of a feed from redshirt freshman Kyleigh Jones (Elwood, Ind./Elwood) to force a UB timeout. The game marked the first action for Jones since December 8 against Evansville as she has been out with an injury.
Buffalo nailed back-to-back three-pointers as Stephanie Bennett started to heat up as UB went into the locker room with a 32-20 lead. The Cardinals struggled offensively in the first half as they hit just 29.6 percent (eight-of-27) from the field and just 16.7 percent (two-of-12) from three-point land. The 20 first half points is the lowest output for the Cardinals this season in MAC action and the lowest since they scored 18 first half points against Butler.
Ball State came out in the second half and tried to cut into the Buffalo lead but the Cardinals traded baskets back-and-forth for most of the half. Each time the Cardinals made a run, Buffalo would thwart the momentum with a couple of baskets to take the lead back to double figures.
The Cardinals pulled within nine points at 46-37 as junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) scored on a drive down the lane. Buffalo responded with two straight baskets to push the lead back to double figures. The Cardinals pulled within six points later in the half at 60-54 as DeMuth scored on a put back and freshman guard Shannon Klei (Coldspring, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) hit a three-pointer from the wing.
Buffalo again answered with five straight points to take an 11-point lead with three minutes remaining. The Cardinals clawed back to within seven points as DeMuth connected on four straight free throws but Bennett sealed the victory with a three-pointer in the corner to extend the lead back to 10 points.
Buffalo finished the game shooting 43.5 percent (27-of-62) from the field and 60 percent (six-of-10) from long range. The Bulls also hit 13-of-18 (72.2%) from the free throw line in the victory.
Green came just shy of a double-double for the Cardinals as she scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds. She also dished out a team-high six assists as they Cardinals recorded a MAC-season low 10 assists in the loss. Maggert chipped in 10 points and six rebounds while Jones added six points in 24 minutes off the bench in her return to the court.
Buffalo was led by Bennett who finished with a game-high 24 points while also grabbing eight rebounds. She was eight-of-13 from the field and hit five-of-seven from three-point land in the victory. Forward Jamie Schiebner added 16 points and 10 rebounds while Jessica Fortman chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Cardinals will be off during the midweek and return to action next Saturday afternoon as they host Akron at 3 p.m. The game will be Think Pink Day as the Cardinals take part in the WBCA's Think Pink Initiative to promote breast cancer awareness.
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