Saturday, January 7
MUNCIE, IND.
3:30 PM
Ball State University
10-5, 3-0MAC
61
vs
56
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Western Michigan University
11-3, 2-1MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Western Michigan
18
7
15
16
56
Ball State
6
19
16
20
61
WBB Remains Undefeated In MAC Play With 61-56 Win Over WMU
January 07, 2017 | Women's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State women's basketball (10-5, 3-0 MAC) remainded undefeated in Mid-American Conference play with its 61-56 win over Western Michigan (11-3, 2-1 MAC) Saturday afternoon in Worthen Arena.
Despite a poor display of shooting from the Cardinals in the first quarter, Ball State managed to end the game shooting 41.5 percent from the floor while holding the Broncos to 33.3 percent shooting. Ball State outrebounded Western Michigan 42 to 37 and snapped Western Michigan's 10-game winning streak. With the win, the Cardinals are now off to their best conference start since 2014-15. That year Ball State began league action 4-0 with wins over Bowling Green, Miami, Western Michigan, and Kent State.
Junior forward Moriah Monaco continued her streak of scoring in double figures in all 15 of the Cardinals games this season after finishing with a team-high 18 point performance. Senior center Renee Bennett collected her fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and a career high 14 rebounds, followed by senior guard Jill Morrison who ended the afternoon with 10.
The Broncos set the pace early on in the ball game jumping out to an early 18-6 lead after the first quarter of play. The Cardinals unfortunately struggled offensively in the first 10 minutes of the contest only shooting 25 percent from the field while Western Michigan shot 41 percent from the floor.
Ball State then took control in the second period and went on a 16-3 run to take a 25-21 lead at the 4:07 mark which was capped off by a 3-pointer from Morrison.
The Cardinals owed most of their success to their inside game which included layups from Bennett, senior guard Calyn Hosea, junior guard Frannie Frazier and Monaco. Unfortunately the Cardinals went scoreless the remainder of the quarter allowing Western Michigan to knot the game 25-25 at intermission.
After the break, both teams traded baskets over a four minute stretch but Western Michigan began to slowly pull away from the Cardinals taking a 33-29 advantage with five minutes remaining in the third period. Ball State wouldn't give up though ending the quarter with a 12-7 run to take back a 41-40 lead after a 3-point basket from Monaco to end the quarter.
In a game that saw two ties and 11 lead changes, both teams knew it would come down to the final quarter. Western Michigan led 48-47 with 6:13 left in the game after the Broncos Najee Smith knocked down a one from behind the arc but Hosea quickly answered for the Cardinals with a jumper to give Ball State back the lead for the remainder of the contest.
Western Michigan was held to only three points after Hosea's jumper while Ball State rallied off 10 points to take its largest lead of the contest (57-51) with 37 seconds on the clock. The Broncos pulled within three points in the final seconds, but was forced to foul Ball State in their last efforts to win the ball game. The Cardinals had shot poorly all game from the charity stripe (12-of-22) but knocked them down when it mattered to seal the victory.
The Ball State women's basketball team continues Mid-American Conference action when it travels to Central Michigan Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff in McGuirk Arena.
Despite a poor display of shooting from the Cardinals in the first quarter, Ball State managed to end the game shooting 41.5 percent from the floor while holding the Broncos to 33.3 percent shooting. Ball State outrebounded Western Michigan 42 to 37 and snapped Western Michigan's 10-game winning streak. With the win, the Cardinals are now off to their best conference start since 2014-15. That year Ball State began league action 4-0 with wins over Bowling Green, Miami, Western Michigan, and Kent State.
Junior forward Moriah Monaco continued her streak of scoring in double figures in all 15 of the Cardinals games this season after finishing with a team-high 18 point performance. Senior center Renee Bennett collected her fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and a career high 14 rebounds, followed by senior guard Jill Morrison who ended the afternoon with 10.
The Broncos set the pace early on in the ball game jumping out to an early 18-6 lead after the first quarter of play. The Cardinals unfortunately struggled offensively in the first 10 minutes of the contest only shooting 25 percent from the field while Western Michigan shot 41 percent from the floor.
Ball State then took control in the second period and went on a 16-3 run to take a 25-21 lead at the 4:07 mark which was capped off by a 3-pointer from Morrison.
The Cardinals owed most of their success to their inside game which included layups from Bennett, senior guard Calyn Hosea, junior guard Frannie Frazier and Monaco. Unfortunately the Cardinals went scoreless the remainder of the quarter allowing Western Michigan to knot the game 25-25 at intermission.
After the break, both teams traded baskets over a four minute stretch but Western Michigan began to slowly pull away from the Cardinals taking a 33-29 advantage with five minutes remaining in the third period. Ball State wouldn't give up though ending the quarter with a 12-7 run to take back a 41-40 lead after a 3-point basket from Monaco to end the quarter.
In a game that saw two ties and 11 lead changes, both teams knew it would come down to the final quarter. Western Michigan led 48-47 with 6:13 left in the game after the Broncos Najee Smith knocked down a one from behind the arc but Hosea quickly answered for the Cardinals with a jumper to give Ball State back the lead for the remainder of the contest.
Western Michigan was held to only three points after Hosea's jumper while Ball State rallied off 10 points to take its largest lead of the contest (57-51) with 37 seconds on the clock. The Broncos pulled within three points in the final seconds, but was forced to foul Ball State in their last efforts to win the ball game. The Cardinals had shot poorly all game from the charity stripe (12-of-22) but knocked them down when it mattered to seal the victory.
The Ball State women's basketball team continues Mid-American Conference action when it travels to Central Michigan Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff in McGuirk Arena.
Team Stats
WMU
BALLST
FG%
.333
.415
3FG%
.350
.278
FT%
.550
.545
RB
37
42
TO
18
21
STL
13
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
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