Ball State University
11-4, 3-1MAc
Buffalo
10-5, 2-2MAC
Balanced Attack Lifts WBB Past Buffalo In MAC Action
January 14, 2016 | Women's Basketball
By Doug Zaleski
Ballstatesports.com
The tone of Wednesday's women's basketball game for Ball State was established in the first half and cemented in the second half.
The Cardinals' plan to get the ball inside was never more apparent than at the start of the third quarter. They got the ball deep in the low post on their first five possessions of the period, scoring four times.
That advantage paved the way for Ball State to defeat Buffalo 68-63, improving its record this year to 8-0 in Worthen Arena.
After trailing 35-34 at halftime, the Cardinals' plan to start the second half was to get tougher in all aspects and pound the ball inside on offense.
On the first three possessions of the third period, forward Nathalie Fontaine received passes on the low block from Carmen Grande, Moriah Monaco and Jill Morrison.
“We came out running plays for me to get (the ball) deep,” Fontaine said. “My teammates helped me get deep, and then got me the ball deep.”
Fontaine missed shots on the first two possessions against Buffalo's bump-and-grind pressure, but center Renee Bennett was there to turn offensive rebounds into baskets. On the third possession, Fontaine converted at the rim for a 40-36 Ball State lead.
“That's where this game was going to be decided,” Cardinals coach Brady Sallee said. “The team that was able to win between the blocks was going to win the game. I wanted to come out and force our toughness. When you throw it down there, man, it's game on.
“… It's no easy task throwing it in to (Bennett and Fontaine) because everybody knows that's where it's going, but our kids did a good job with execution. I would have hated to have been an official in this game.”
Ball State (11-4, 3-1 Mid-American Conference West) scored almost half its points in the paint, enjoying a 32-16 advantage inside against the Bulls.
Bennett used her 6-foot-5 frame to gain position on 6-1 Buffalo defender Mariah Suchan. Fontaine was too quick for 6-3 Buffalo center Cassie Oursler.
Bennett scored all 16 of her points in the second half and added six rebounds. Fontaine finished with 13 points and 11 boards, her 26th career double-double.
“In the first half, I was struggling a little bit,” Bennett admitted. “Maybe I didn't expect to be as heavily guarded as I was. … I kind of had to hear about myself (from Sallee) a little bit in the locker room at halftime.”
That was putting it mildly. The halftime talk between Sallee and his team was a no-holds-barred affair.
“At halftime, we got real; we got personal a little bit,” Sallee said. “We had some one-on-ones and figured some things out. … Renee will tell you I didn't pat her on the back and ask her if she was OK. And I didn't pat Nat on the back, or Carmen (Grande) or Jill (Morrison) or anyone.
“But they all had that look like 'we got it' and they knew what I was talking about.”
The Cardinals eventually charged to a 59-48 lead with 6:12 remaining in the fourth quarter. They still led by 10 with 4:08 to play.
But Buffalo (10-5, 2-2 MAC East) scored the next seven points to get within 62-59 with 2:52 to play, and the outcome was up for grabs the rest of the way.
Ball State's lead was trimmed to one point with 45 seconds to go, but Bennett scored in the paint for a 66-63 Cardinal advantage with 8.2 seconds to play.
The Cardinals had only one foul in the fourth quarter and could have fouled Buffalo multiple times to prevent a 3-point shot in rhythm, but Sallee instead chose to defend the perimeter.
Sallee noted the Cardinals practiced fouling in that situation Tuesday, but said he went with a gut feel during the game by defending.
Buffalo's Joanna Smith missed a 3 with three seconds to go, and Bennett made two free throws to secure the victory.
“(Buffalo) shot 26 percent from the 3-point line, and that was my feel,” he said. “I was going to take a 26 percent chance (that it missed) as opposed to (sending) a team (to the free-throw line) that had 15 offensive rebounds.”
Sallee loved the toughness his team displayed against Buffalo's aggressive philosophy. That included Morrison defending Smith for most of the game.
The Bulls' season scoring leader averages 17.1 points. She scored 21 against the Cardinals, but needed 20 shots to reach that point total.
“We had to make it really rough for her to score, and that's what we went with,” Sallee said after scrutinizing game tape of Smith. “Jill did a really good job of making the Smith kid inefficient. If she had to take 20 shots to get 21 points, we're OK with that as long as we get the rebounds.”
Morrison added 14 points, hitting 4-of-10 shots from the 3-point line. Shelby Merder scored nine off the bench in just 18 minutes, and Grande led with five assists.
Backup wing Lucia Fernandez was in uniform after missing the past eight games with a broken hand. She did not play.
“She's really close,” Sallee said. “Part of a coach's job is to put players in positions to be successful, and she's just not quit sharp enough yet. Physically, she's fine, but (I want) to get her through a couple more days of practice.”
The Cardinals continue MAC play at 2 p.m. Saturday at Bowling Green.
