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Western Michigan
WBB Suffers 51-50 Heartbreaking Loss At WMU Saturday
February 28, 2015 | Women's Basketball
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Ball State women's basketball team lost a (51-50) heartbreaker at Western Michigan Saturday afternoon in Read Fieldhouse.
With the loss, Ball State falls to 15-12 overall and 11-5 in Mid-American Conference action while Western Michigan improves to 17-10 on the season and 10-6 in league play.
Despite the loss, the Cardinals had four players reach double figures. Nathalie Fontaine led all scorers with a game-high 15 points and added seven rebounds to the loss. Jill Morrison had 12 points which included four three point baskets. Both Renee Bennett and Shelbie Justice ended the day with 10 points apiece.
The Broncos carried their first half momentum into the second half with its largest cushion being eight (36-28) at the 16:02 mark. Shelbie Justice nailed a three and Fontaine hit a jumper to come within three (36-33) with 14:17 on the clock.
With 2:11 left to play, Ball State regained control with layups from Justice and Fontaine to put the Cardinals back up by one (50-49). Western Michigan's Miracle Woods answered with a layup on the other end of the court to take back the 51-50 advantage over the Cardinals with just a minute left in the ball game. Ball State had the last possession, but both Fontaine and Justice missed jumpers as time expired allowing the Broncos to claim the victory.
For the first four minutes of the ball game, the Cardinals went on an 11-2 scoring spree to take a nine point lead (11-2) with 15:40 remaining in the half. During that run, Ball State shot a staggering 60 percent from the field after three point baskets from Morrsion and Bennett. But Western Michigan quickly answered with a 16-8 run to take its first lead of the ball game (18-16) at the 8:45 mark.
A layup from Justice put the Cardinals back up by one (19-18) with 6:39 remaining. After that, Western Michigan closed the half with a 10-4 run to give the Broncos the 28-23 advantage over Ball State at intermission.
The Ball State women's basketball team continues Mid-American Conference action on the road when it travels to Central Michigan for a 7 p.m. tipoff in McGuirk Arena.
