Ball State University
8-3
Saint Louis
9-3
WBB Remains Perfect At Home With Win Over Saint Louis
December 29, 2015 | Women's Basketball
By Doug Zaleski
Ballstatesports.com
The numbers indicate Ball State shouldn't have been able to do this.
St. Louis leads the Atlantic-10 Conference in defensive 3-point field-goal percentage, limiting opponents to 20.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
The Billikens' last six foes combined to shoot a measly 17.8 percent from the 3-point line.
Ball State women's basketball coach Brady Sallee didn't even bring that up to his players in pregame preparation for Monday's game against St. Louis. He didn't want them to focus on that.
So the Cardinals went out and made 10-of-23 shots from the 3-point line to help spark a 79-70 victory against the Billikens in Worthen Arena.
The loss denied St. Louis (9-3) a chance to tie its school record for best 12-game start in school history with a 10-2 record.
“My teammates laid the wood on the screens, and a couple of my shots were wide open,” said Jill Morrison, who made 4-of-7 from the arc and tied her season high with 20 points. “It's easy to make them when you're that open. I was feeling good and knocked some down.”
Perhaps non more effortlessly than her final 3 with 5:51 remaining in the game. Morrison moved from the free-throw line to the top of the key, received a pass from Shelby Merder, turned against her body to the right and in one motion fired a shot that splashed the net.
“Sometimes I can't hit shots when my feet are set and I'm better when they're not,” Morrison said. “I was just feeling it, and it went in.”
Monaco had similar feelings throughout the game. She made 5-of-11 attempts from the 3-point line on the way to tying her career high with 19 points.
“A lot of people were setting great screens, and people with the ball were finding us when we were open,” she said.
Sallee thought some of the open shots from the perimeter were facilitated by St. Louis putting extra emphasis on Cardinals forward Nathalie Fontaine. The senior scored a school-record 43 points in Ball State's previous game, and the Billikens' defense tried to make her work hard for her points.
“(St. Louis) was going to have a plan against Nat, and there was a focus,” Sallee said. “I think they got caught up a little in that, and we have just enough stuff where we can play some mis-direction and things, and the next thing you know, somebody is open or coming off a screen.”
That made the perimeter accessible, and Fontaine still was effective inside. She scored a game-high 24 points and claimed 15 rebounds.
“When you've got (Morrison and Monaco) hitting shots, Nat going off, Carmen (Grande) making good decisions, man we're a load,” Sallee said.
Those four combined for 73 points and 33 rebounds. It was too much for St. Louis, and just enough for the Cardinals (8-3) to survive a shaky performance at the free-throw line in the final two minutes.
Ball State had a 25-9 advantage in made free-throws during the game, but it was only 8-for-16 at the line in the final 2:09.
“We have to finish the game cleaner,” Sallee said. “We've got to make big free throws. We had the right people at the line.
“We'll be out there shooting them (Tuesday in practice) and it won't be because I make them. It will be because they know they have to make those free throws.”
The Cardinals played their second straight game without starting center Renee Bennett, sidelined in a walking boot with an ankle injury. Sallee said there's no timetable for when she returns to action.
Her absence resulted in four of the Cardinals' five starters playing 36 minutes or more against St. Louis, including all 40 by Monaco, 39 by Fontaine and 38 by Morrison.
Ball State will open Mid-American Conference play at home with a 2 p.m. game Saturday against Toledo. The Cardinals were picked second in the MAC West preseason poll behind Eastern Michigan, but received the most first-place votes with eight.
