Wednesday, February 22
Kalamazoo, MI
7:00 PM
Ball State University
19-8, 12-3MAC
83
at
72
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Western Michigan University
16-10, 7-8MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Ball State
25
23
7
28
83
Western Michigan
20
21
10
21
72
Monaco Lifts Women’s Basketball Past Western Michigan, 83-72
February 22, 2017 | Women's Basketball
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Ball State women's basketball team earned yet another win on the road in Mid-American Conference action after defeating Western Michigan by a score of 83-72 Wednesday night in University Arena.
With the win, the Cardinals improved to 19-8 on the season and 12-3 in league action while the Broncos drop to 16-10 on the year and 7-8 in MAC play. The Cardinals have now won six MAC road games in a row.
For the game, junior forward Moriah Monaco led Ball State in scoring with 24 points while teammate senior center Renee Bennett finished the night with 19. Both Monaco and Bennett led the Cardinals defensively with seven rebounds apiece. Junior guard Frannie Frazier rounded out the double figure scoring for Ball State with 10. After dishing out nine assists, sophomore guard Carmen Grande set the single season assist record which was 197 and she now has 202.
The Cardinals started the game out strong with a 7-3 run over the Broncos. Ball State led 15-9 before Western Michigan turned up its defense causing some unforeseen turnovers for the Cardinals. Western Michigan used a quick 4-0 run to come within two (15-13) with 3:31 remaining in the first quarter. Back-to-back 3-point baskets from senior guard Jill Morrison and freshman center Morgan Glatczak helped Ball State go back up by eight (23-15). Western Michigan then closed the quarter scoring five of the last seven points which resulted in a slim five-point (25-20) lead for Ball State.
In the second quarter, Western Michigan continued to tighten the game up but the Cardinals answered with some clutch baskets on their ensuing possessions to remain in control. With 3:25 remaining in the half, Monaco went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe to put Ball state back up by six (39-33). But just when Western Michigan would give the Cardinals an inch they would take a mile, scoring five straight points to cut the lead to one (39-38) with 2:11 remaining. After that, Ball State outscored Western Michigan 9-3 to take a 48-40 lead at intermission.
Much like the start of the contest, Ball State came out of the gates strong in the third stanza rattling off seven points to take its largest lead of the game (53-43) after just three minutes shaved off the clock. After that, Western Michigan answered quickly with an 8-0 run to make it a 53-51 ball game with just over two minutes left in the third quarter. Bennett finally hit a field goal at the 2:16 mark to stop the Broncos scoring spree. Despite the Broncos efforts, the Cardinals were able to hold onto a four-point (55-51) advantage heading into the final quarter.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Western Michigan continued to take Ball State out of its offensive tempo eventually tying the game at 55-55 with just a minute shaved off the clock. But the Cardinals kept fighting, like they have all season long and orchestrated an 11-1 run in stretch of over four minutes to go back up by 10 (66-56) with 5:39 left. During that run, the Cardinals got help from Monaco, Frazier and sophomore guard Carmen Grande. The closest Western Michigan would get the remainder of the contest was seven (68-61) which occurred at the 4:31 mark. Monaco drained a few more 3-pointers and her teammates followed with baskets of their own, as the Cardinals outscored the Broncos 23-11 in the final minutes to secure the victory.
Ball State shot a staggering 83.3 percent from the floor in the fourth quarter after going 10-of-12 from the field.
With only three games remaining in the Mid-American Conference regular season, Ball State will face the league's West Division leader, Central Michigan Saturday at 2 p.m. in Worthen Arena. The Cardinals then play at Eastern Michigan Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center before closing out the regular season at home Saturday, March 4 at 2 p.m. against the Toledo Rockets.
With the win, the Cardinals improved to 19-8 on the season and 12-3 in league action while the Broncos drop to 16-10 on the year and 7-8 in MAC play. The Cardinals have now won six MAC road games in a row.
For the game, junior forward Moriah Monaco led Ball State in scoring with 24 points while teammate senior center Renee Bennett finished the night with 19. Both Monaco and Bennett led the Cardinals defensively with seven rebounds apiece. Junior guard Frannie Frazier rounded out the double figure scoring for Ball State with 10. After dishing out nine assists, sophomore guard Carmen Grande set the single season assist record which was 197 and she now has 202.
The Cardinals started the game out strong with a 7-3 run over the Broncos. Ball State led 15-9 before Western Michigan turned up its defense causing some unforeseen turnovers for the Cardinals. Western Michigan used a quick 4-0 run to come within two (15-13) with 3:31 remaining in the first quarter. Back-to-back 3-point baskets from senior guard Jill Morrison and freshman center Morgan Glatczak helped Ball State go back up by eight (23-15). Western Michigan then closed the quarter scoring five of the last seven points which resulted in a slim five-point (25-20) lead for Ball State.
In the second quarter, Western Michigan continued to tighten the game up but the Cardinals answered with some clutch baskets on their ensuing possessions to remain in control. With 3:25 remaining in the half, Monaco went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe to put Ball state back up by six (39-33). But just when Western Michigan would give the Cardinals an inch they would take a mile, scoring five straight points to cut the lead to one (39-38) with 2:11 remaining. After that, Ball State outscored Western Michigan 9-3 to take a 48-40 lead at intermission.
Much like the start of the contest, Ball State came out of the gates strong in the third stanza rattling off seven points to take its largest lead of the game (53-43) after just three minutes shaved off the clock. After that, Western Michigan answered quickly with an 8-0 run to make it a 53-51 ball game with just over two minutes left in the third quarter. Bennett finally hit a field goal at the 2:16 mark to stop the Broncos scoring spree. Despite the Broncos efforts, the Cardinals were able to hold onto a four-point (55-51) advantage heading into the final quarter.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Western Michigan continued to take Ball State out of its offensive tempo eventually tying the game at 55-55 with just a minute shaved off the clock. But the Cardinals kept fighting, like they have all season long and orchestrated an 11-1 run in stretch of over four minutes to go back up by 10 (66-56) with 5:39 left. During that run, the Cardinals got help from Monaco, Frazier and sophomore guard Carmen Grande. The closest Western Michigan would get the remainder of the contest was seven (68-61) which occurred at the 4:31 mark. Monaco drained a few more 3-pointers and her teammates followed with baskets of their own, as the Cardinals outscored the Broncos 23-11 in the final minutes to secure the victory.
Ball State shot a staggering 83.3 percent from the floor in the fourth quarter after going 10-of-12 from the field.
With only three games remaining in the Mid-American Conference regular season, Ball State will face the league's West Division leader, Central Michigan Saturday at 2 p.m. in Worthen Arena. The Cardinals then play at Eastern Michigan Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center before closing out the regular season at home Saturday, March 4 at 2 p.m. against the Toledo Rockets.
Team Stats
BALLST
WMU
FG%
.588
.406
3FG%
.500
.333
FT%
.684
.682
RB
32
34
TO
19
14
STL
7
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
6
FTM
4
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
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