Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
#4 Iowa State
Women?s Basketball Sees Magical Season Come To An End
March 25, 2009 | Women's Basketball
No. 12 Ball State vs. No. 4 Iowa State ESPN360 Replay Link
No. 12 Ball State vs. No. 4 Iowa State Quotes
No. 12 Ball State vs. No. 4 Iowa State Notes
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - - The No. 12 seed Ball State women's basketball team saw its magical 2008-09 season come to an end with a 71-57 setback to No. 4 seed Iowa State in the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament Tuesday evening at E.A. Diddle Arena on the campus of Western Kentucky University.
The Cardinals, who scored a 71-55 victory over two-time defending national champions Tennessee last Sunday (March 22) in its first-ever NCAA Tournament game, ended the season with a school-record 26 wins, compared to just nine losses. Over the last two months of the season, the Cardinals also put together a school-record 12-game winning streak which included the program's first MAC Tournament Championship.
The fourth-seeded Cyclones advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament where they will face No. 9 seed Michigan State who upset No. 1 seed Duke 63-49 earlier in the day. That game is set for Saturday, March 28 in Berkeley, Calif.
For the second time in the tournament, Porchia Green paced the Ball State offense with 18 points, while grabbing six more rebounds. Jade Barber added a career-high 13 points on a 6-for-7 effort from the field, while also grabbing six boards.
Emily Maggert also added double-figures for the Cardinals, chipping in with 12 points, while Danielle Gratton tied for team-high honors with six boards.
Four Cyclones tallied double-figures on the night, paced by Nicky Wieben's 18 points. Amanda Nisleit collected a double-double in the win, pacing all players with 10 rebounds while adding 14 points. Also scoring in double-figures for Iowa State were Kelsey Bolte (16) and Alison Lacey (13).
For the game, the ISU defense limited the Cardinals to a 39.0% shooting effort from the field, including a 2-of-11 (18.2) mark from behind the arc. The Cyclones ended the night hitting for a 43.1% rate of success, including a 10-of-25 (40.0%) effort from downtown.
After being out-rebounded in its last two contests, the Cardinals were able to hold a 37-to-35 advantage on the boards, including a 12-to-11 lead in offensive rebounds.
After a free throw from Iowa State's Bolte with 18:23 on the clock, Ball State's Green hit the first basket of the contest with a layup from the right side to give BSU a 2-1 lead at the 18:04 mark. Another Green runner (17:20) gave the Cardinals a 4-3 advantage, before five-straight points, including a three from Bolte gave the Cyclones an 8-4 advantage at the first media timeout (15:15).
The Cardinals responded with the first four points out of the break, on buckets from Barber and Patrice King, but a quick three from Lacey and a Denae Stuckey layup the other way gave ISU a 13-8 lead with 12:40 remaining in the half.
Barber added her second duce of the contest on the next trip down the court, as BSU entered the second media break (11:35) trailing 13-10.
Iowa State added its third three of the game, this time from Wieben, to build a 16-10 edge with 9:29 left in the half. After a Maggert layup, Bolte added her second trifecta of the contest to give Iowa State its largest lead of the half, seven points, at 19-12 with 7:54 on the clock.
An 8-0 run by the Cardinals over the next 3:18, started by a free throw and a pair of baskets from Green and capped by an Audrey McDonald three, gave Ball State its first lead since early in the half at 20-19. ISU responded with the next five points, only to see baskets from Barber and Green tie the score at 24 with 2:39 left in the half.
A pair of layups from Wieben pushed the score to 28-24 in favor of the fourth-seeded Cyclones with 1:46 remaining, while a Green converted on one of two free throws with 34 seconds on the clock to give the game a halftime score of 28-25.
Ball State shot 39.3% in the opening frame, hitting 11-of-28 shots including a 1-of-6 effort from behind the arc. Iowa State connected at 40.7%, thanks in part to a 5-of-12 effort from three point land.
ISU's Lacey scored seven seconds into the second half to extend the lead to 30-25, while Maggert followed with BSU's first two baskets of the half to cut the lead to one at 30-29 with 16:29 on the clock. A Heather Ezell layup pushed the edge back to three at 32-29, only to see a Barber three-point play, a quick runner and free throw, tie the score at 32 with 15:19 remaining in the game.
Two Wieben buckets, surrounding a three from Bolte, gave the Cyclones their second seven-point lead of the contest at 39-32 and forced the Cardinals to call timeout with 12:52 on the clock. King followed with her second basket of the night to stop the ISU run, and help the Cardinals go into the second media timeout (11:51) trailing by just five at 39-34.
McDonald cut the lead to four at 41-37 with her second three of the game at 11:10, while Maggert connected on a pair from the charity stripe to move the score to 41-39 with 10:15 remaining. However, the Cyclones quickly answered with a duce from Lacey and a three from Ezell to regain the seven-point spread at 46-39 and force BSU to call another timeout at the 9:05 mark.
The teams traded the next two baskets leading to a 48-41 score at the eight-minute media break (7:29). Maggert added two more freebies coming out of the stoppage to draw the Cardinals back within five at 48-43, only to see a three from Bolte give ISU a 51-43 lead.
Iowa State extended the advantage to 11 points 56-45 on a three from Amanda Nisleit at 4:51, while a bucket and a free throw from Green at 4:02 cut the advantage back to eight, 56-48. Nisleit converted on a basket and free throw of her own on the other end of the court, giving the Cyclones a 59-48 lead just after the final media timeout.
Two more Nisleit free throws extended the lead to 13 at 61-48, while an Amber Clark layup on the other end cut the gap back to 11 with 2:33 left in the game. A Wieben three for ISU and a Green bucket and free throw moved the score to 64-53 with 1:47 to play
Unfortunately, the Cardinals magical season would come to the end, as BSU was forced to foul and the Cyclones were able to convert on seven of eight free throw attempts down the stretch to win the game 71-57. Ball State's Kyleigh Jones posted the final points of the game with a layup with seven seconds left on the clock.
