Ball State University
9-3, 1-0MAC
Toledo
5-7, 0-1MAC
WBB Wins Conference Opener; Defeats Toledo 75-69
January 02, 2016 | Women's Basketball
By Doug Zaleski
Ballstatesports.com
If the first game of a conference season is one to gauge where a team could be in the race, Ball State might have learned a thing or two Saturday.
The Cardinals found out they are capable of falling behind a good opponent by 17 points, look befuddled at times in the process, and then storm back to claim a victory.
Warning: This is the equivalent of the scarecrow playing with fire.
The Cardinals managed to stay out of the flames and emerge with a 75-69 win against Toledo in their Mid-American Conference opener in Worthen Arena. They improved to 6-0 in home games.
“It's not quite the way we scripted it,” Cardinals coach Brady Sallee said. “To our kids' credit, we just keep playing.”
That battling style paid dividends as Ball State (9-3, 1-0 MAC West) got back into the game in the third quarter and surged into the lead in the fourth quarter.
Backup guard Frannie Frazier provided some of the spark for the comeback. She started the fourth quarter and the Cardinals ran a play for her. She was fouled and converted a free throw.
Though Ball State still trailed by five points, Frazier's penchant for providing intangible benefits was apparent.
“Our team looked different after that,” Sallee said. “It was like, 'Oh, here we are.' Our body language changed. Everybody calmed down a little bit, but got jacked up at the same time because we were back.
“With Frannie, the word 'fight' comes to mind. She brought the fight to Toledo, and we kind of followed.”
Frazier played 14 minutes in the second half. Her five points, five rebounds and boundless energy were among the elements that allowed Ball State to outscore Toledo 47-28 after halftime.
“She's always like a sparkplug when she comes in,” said teammate Jill Morrison.
Frazier's driving basket with 6:45 left in the game put the Cardinals ahead 53-52, and they never trailed the rest of the game.
Ball State's offense, which was stagnant in the first half, scored points on 13 of its final 17 possessions of the game and committed just two turnovers in the second half. And its defense came alive after a rough first half.
Toledo (5-7, 0-1 MAC West) shot 55.2 percent from the floor in the first half as the Cardinals “played on our heels (while) Toledo brought the game to our arena,” according to Sallee.
That flipped in the second half. The Rockets missed 23 of 27 shots in the first 13 minutes of the second half to help fuel the Cardinals' comeback.
“We quit getting spread out and were who we are,” Sallee said of the Cardinals' improvement on defense in the second half. “We were going to be in help, be in gaps … start making them shoot jump shots. And when we pressed, it took them out of their comfort zone a little bit.”
The Cardinals also found their comfort zone on offense. They shot 52.2% from the floor after halftime. Their big three scorers – Fontaine, Morrison and Monaco – scored 27 points in the second half after combining for just 14 in the first half.
If that wasn't difficult enough for Toledo to overcome, senior forward Shelby Merder tossed in a career-high 15 points. She was 3-for-6 from the 3-point line.
“If you guard her with a traditional big, they're not used to chasing somebody who can shoot it,” Sallee said. “If you guard her smaller, then we can get her in the post. We can constantly play that chess match no matter who you have on her or Nat.”
Fontaine scored 14 points in the second half with a more determined mindset. She made herself more available inside, and then attacked the basket with aggression after getting the ball. She made 5-of-7 shots in the second half.
“They went small on me sometimes,” said Fontaine, who added 11 rebounds for her 24th career double-double. “Coach got on me a little bit at halftime. I'm a lot taller than the ones guarding me, and I just had to go up strong and not fade away.”
Morrison and Moriah Monaco each added 10 points. Morrison had six assists (all in the second half), tying her career best.
“We just had to get refocused, let the first half go, move forward, and play through the adversity,” Morrison said. “We had to come together as a team.”
Fontaine scored inside baskets on back-to-back possessions to put the Cardinals ahead 60-53 (at the time, their biggest lead of the game) with 4:20 to play.
Toledo came back within two points, but Ball State played steady down the stretch. The Cardinals were 9-of-10 at the free-throw line, including 4-of-4 by both Morrison and Carmen Grande, in the final 57.4 seconds.
Ball State will continue MAC play at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Ohio. The Bobcats (9-3, 1-0 MAC East) were the preseason pick to win the MAC championship. They opened the conference season with a 73-63 win at home Saturday against Western Michigan.
