CLEVELAND, Ohio ? The No. 1 West seed Ball State University women's basketball team (24-8, 14-2 MAC) handed No. 6 East seed Buffalo (8-24, 2-14 MAC) a 68-54 loss Saturday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena in the semifinal game of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Ball State will play in the MAC championship game for the first time since 2006-07 against the No. 1 East seed Bowling Green.
The Cardinals have not participated in the MAC Championship game since 2006-07. That year Ball State defeated Western Michigan and Northern Illinois to advance to the final round. The Cardinals faced Bowling Green that season losing the championship 67-53 to the Falcons.
The MAC began the two divisional format in 1997-98. The meeting between No. 1 West Ball State and No. 1 East Bowling Green in the MAC championship game Sunday will be the first time two top divisional seeds have faced each other in the final game.
With the win Ball State extends its win streak to 10 which is the second best win streak in program history. The last time the Cardinals won 10 in a row was in 2006-07. Kelly Packard is now tied with former head Ball State basketball coach Tracy Roller for the most wins in program history with 24-wins in their debut seasons.
Ball State was led by junior forward Danielle Gratton who had 14 points on the day, six boards and four blocks. Junior guard Audrey McDonald chipped in 10 points including two three-pointers. Again Ball State had 10 of its 12 players get on the board for the second straight day.
Buffalo came out in the second half knocking down two shots but quickly junior guard McDonald dished out an assist to sophomore forward Emily Maggert for the layup and the foul making it a three-point play. With 15:52 remaining in the game Ball State had built a 41-18 cushion over the Bulls.
Ball State continued its patience finding the open teammate for a shot and when the shots didn't fall the Cardinals continuously came up with the rebound.
Gratton started the first half with a block and a jumper to get Ball State off on the right foot. Buffalo made it a 7-5 ball game at the 17:17 mark. Gratton then sparked a 15-0 run for the Cardinals after hitting a trey with 16:29 on the clock.
Ball State's defense carried itself from yesterday's quarterfinal round as they held Buffalo scoreless for just under nine minutes. The Bulls made a basket with 17:17 left and then did not score again until the 8:27 mark.
Again the Cardinals bench contributed 10-points in the first half. Freshman Amber Clark added some spark in the paint dropping in seven points while classmate Patrice King also had a basket.
Ball State had one of its best first half rebounding performances of the season pulling down 24 boards to Buffalo's 12. The Cardinals also held the Bulls to a 13.6 shooting percentage in the first half. BSU headed into halftime with a 34-12 edge over Buffalo. The Cardinals held Buffalo to the second fewest first half points since 1993 in MAC tournament play.
The Ball State University women's basketball team will face Bowling Green Sunday in the MAC Championship game at Quicken Loans Arena with a 1 p.m. tipoff.
