CLEVELAND, Ohio ? The Ball State women's basketball team saw its run in the 2008 Kraft Mid-American Conference Tournament come to an end on Tuesday evening as the Cardinals, the top seed from the MAC West Division, dropped a 65-60 contest to the West Division's fifth seed Toledo in the quarterfinals at Quicken Loans Arena. The loss drops the Cardinals to 15-15 on the season while Toledo improves to 14-15 overall.
“We have to give Toledo a lot of credit as they came out with a lot to prove tonight,” acting head coach Lisa McDonald. “We fought and battled all game long and never gave up. We just didn't have enough in the tank and couldn't take advantage of our opportunities tonight.”
The Cardinals had a tough night shooting in the loss as they hit just 31.1 percent (19-of-61) from the field in the loss including just 27.3 percent (six-of-22) from three-point land. The 31.1 percent shooting is the lowest this season for the Cardinals against a MAC opponent and is the lowest since BSU shot 29.8 percent against Illinois State on December 4.
Toledo conversely shot 49.0 percent (24-of-49) from the field and hit 46.7 percent (seven-of-15) from three-point land in the upset. The Cardinals are now 0-4 all-time against Toledo in the MAC Tournament.
Toledo came out of the gate quickly as the Rockets jumped out to a 15-7 lead just eight minutes into the game to force a Ball State timeout. Toledo was paced by Ta'Yani Clark as she nailed three early three-pointers to give the Rockets the lead. Sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) nailed an early three-pointer to set the Ball State single season record for three-pointers as she surpassed Johna Goff's record of 78.
Ball State responded to a spirited timeout and scored the next six points on its way to a 14-5 run as the Cardinals took a 21-20 lead. Redshirt freshman Kyleigh Jones (Elwood, Ind./Elwood) started things off with a pair of free throws while junior guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) nailed a three-pointer in transition.
The Cardinals pull even at 18-18 as senior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) scored on a put-back. Ball State took its first lead of the game as McDonald nailed her second three-pointer to give BSU a 21-20 lead. The two teams battled back and forth over the final six minutes of the half trading baskets down the stretch.
McDonald nailed her third trifecta of the half with just under a minute left to put Ball State up 30-28, but Toledo nailed a three-pointer with 15.8 seconds left to take a 31-30 lead. Jarrett closed the half with a jumper in the paint to send the Cardinals into the locker room with a 32-31 lead.
Ball State shot just 27.6 percent (eight-of-29) from the field in the first half and just 28.6 percent (four-of-14) from three-point land. The Cardinals were a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line in the first half. McDonald led all Cardinals with nine points while Jarrett added seven points.
Toledo connected on 48.1 percent (13-of-27) from the field in the first half and 45.5 percent (five-of-11) from long range. The Rockets only went to the free throw line one time in the first half. Clark paced all scorers with 15 points as she was six-of-nine from the field, including three three-pointers.
Toledo came out of the halftime break and posted a 16-4 run over the first nine-plus minutes to take a 47-36 lead. The Cardinals started the half hitting just two of their first 15 shots, while the Rockets hit six out of their first 10 to start the second frame.
Ball State regrouped and battled back with a 10-2 run to pull within three at 49-46 with just over six minutes remaining. Junior forward Dana Moorman (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont) sparked the run as she came up with a steal and a basket to pull BSU back within single digits. After a UT basket, the Cardinals scored eight straight points in the spurt including a basket from Jones and a pair of free throws from freshman forward Emily Maggert (Paris, Ill./Paris).
Toledo responded with two straight baskets to extend the lead back to seven at 53-46. Ball State scored five straight as Green hit a pair of free throws and Jarrett nailed a long three-pointer to pull the Cardinals within two points at 53-51. The Cardinals turned in a strong effort on defense to force a Toledo miss but UT forward Lisa Johnson grabbed the rebound and scored on a put-back to snap the Cardinals' momentum.
The Cardinals couldn't find the answer down the stretch as they continued to struggle from the field while Toledo sealed the victory on the free throw line. The Rockets hits 10-of-15 from the charity stripe in the second half with most of the scoring coming in the final two minutes.
Jarrett finished the game with a team-high 13 points as she was just one of three Cardinals in double figures. She finished the game four-of-14 from the field but hit three three-pointers. She also handed out five assists as the Cardinals tallied a season-low seven assists total in the loss.
Green added 12 points as she had an uncharacteristically off night shooting as she was just four-of-15 from the field. McDonald chipped in 11 points as she hit three-of-seven from long range. She finishes the season with a Ball State single season record of 81 three-pointers on the year.
DeMuth grabbed game-high 10 rebounds in the loss as she finished with four points. Classmate Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) added eight points and six rebounds while Maggert finished with six points.
Toledo was paced by Clark who scored a career-high 25 points as she was 10-of-14 from the field and five-of-seven from three-point land. Johnson added 15 points while Tamesha Scotton chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets. Toledo advances to the MAC Tournament semifinals on Friday afternoon where it will face #2E Miami.
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