Wednesday, February 28
Mount Pleasant, MI
7:00 PM
Ball State University
23-5, 12-5
80
at
88
Central Michigan
24-4, 16-1
1
2
3
4
F
Ball State
23
22
21
14
80
Central Michigan
20
16
26
26
88
Photo by: Michael Hickey
WBB Suffers Heartbreaking Loss At MAC Leader CMU
February 28, 2018 | Women's Basketball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Ball State women's basketball team (23-5, 12-5 MAC) suffered a heartbreaking 88-80 loss to Mid-American Conference leader Central Michigan (24-4, 16-1 MAC) Wednesday night in McGuirk Arena.
The Cardinals were led by senior forward Moriah Monaco and junior guard Nakeya Penny with 18-points apiece. Senior guard Frannie Frazier chipped in 11 points while junior guard Jasmin Samz and freshman forward Oshlynn Brown each had 10 points for the night.
For the game, Ball State led the majority of the time 30:31 but it wasn't enough, as the Chippewas took over the ball game late in the final frame. The Cardinals shot 50 percent from the field and held CMU to 43 percent from the floor. Ball State also won the in the paint battle, 42-to-36 and got 28 points from its bench.
After the Chippewas opened the game with back-to-back 3-pointers, the Cardinals had to answer quickly with a 7-2 run of their own. With CMU still controlling the scoreboard, Ball State would turn up its defense midway through the first quarter and would take its first lead of the ball game (16-15) off of a layup from Brown. The first quarter continued to be a tight affair but the Cardinals ended the quarter up 23-20.
The key storyline for the Cardinals in the second period was offense. At the 3:16 mark, Ball State was shooting 72 percent from the field (8-of-11) and had built a 41-33 advantage over the Chippewas. Monaco had scored seven points in the second frame by the media timeout after being held scoreless in the first quarter. The Cardinals defense also continued to be a strong factor in their 45-36 lead over Central Michigan at the half, holding CMU to 38.5 percent from the field. At the half, Ball State had gotten 26 of their point from inside the paint and 18 from its bench.
Monaco started the third quarter with a 3-pointer to push the Cardinals lead to 48-36 but the Chippewas would go on a 11-5 run by the 6:35 mark to come within three (50-47) of the Cardinals. Penny finally stopped the bleeding with a layup and a 3-point basket to put Ball State back up 56-49 midway through the third frame. Central Michigan continued to play close to the Cardinals and would make it a four-point contest (66-62) heading into the final stanza.
A few steals and fast break layups from Frazier and Monaco allowed the Cardinals to open the final period with a 7-4 run to push ahead of the Chippewas 73-66 with 7:16 left on the clock. Both teams went without a field goal for the next few minutes of play until CMU's Tinara Moore hit a layup at the 4:59 mark. With the Cardinals still up by five (73-68) Penny hit a 3-pointer right out of the media timeout to put Ball State back up 76-68. The Chippewas would score the next four baskets to take their first lead since the first quarter, 78-76, with 2:18 on the clock. After that, Ball State couldn't regain control and would be held to only two field goals the remainder of the contest.
The Ball State women's basketball team will end its Mid-American Conference regular season at Eastern Michigan Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Convocation Center.
The Cardinals have already earned a first round bye to the upcoming 2018 MAC Tournament in Cleveland with their victory over Toledo on Feb. 24. This marks the fifth time under sixth year head coach Brady Sallee the Cardinals have earned their ticket straight to Cleveland.
The Cardinals were led by senior forward Moriah Monaco and junior guard Nakeya Penny with 18-points apiece. Senior guard Frannie Frazier chipped in 11 points while junior guard Jasmin Samz and freshman forward Oshlynn Brown each had 10 points for the night.
For the game, Ball State led the majority of the time 30:31 but it wasn't enough, as the Chippewas took over the ball game late in the final frame. The Cardinals shot 50 percent from the field and held CMU to 43 percent from the floor. Ball State also won the in the paint battle, 42-to-36 and got 28 points from its bench.
After the Chippewas opened the game with back-to-back 3-pointers, the Cardinals had to answer quickly with a 7-2 run of their own. With CMU still controlling the scoreboard, Ball State would turn up its defense midway through the first quarter and would take its first lead of the ball game (16-15) off of a layup from Brown. The first quarter continued to be a tight affair but the Cardinals ended the quarter up 23-20.
The key storyline for the Cardinals in the second period was offense. At the 3:16 mark, Ball State was shooting 72 percent from the field (8-of-11) and had built a 41-33 advantage over the Chippewas. Monaco had scored seven points in the second frame by the media timeout after being held scoreless in the first quarter. The Cardinals defense also continued to be a strong factor in their 45-36 lead over Central Michigan at the half, holding CMU to 38.5 percent from the field. At the half, Ball State had gotten 26 of their point from inside the paint and 18 from its bench.
Monaco started the third quarter with a 3-pointer to push the Cardinals lead to 48-36 but the Chippewas would go on a 11-5 run by the 6:35 mark to come within three (50-47) of the Cardinals. Penny finally stopped the bleeding with a layup and a 3-point basket to put Ball State back up 56-49 midway through the third frame. Central Michigan continued to play close to the Cardinals and would make it a four-point contest (66-62) heading into the final stanza.
A few steals and fast break layups from Frazier and Monaco allowed the Cardinals to open the final period with a 7-4 run to push ahead of the Chippewas 73-66 with 7:16 left on the clock. Both teams went without a field goal for the next few minutes of play until CMU's Tinara Moore hit a layup at the 4:59 mark. With the Cardinals still up by five (73-68) Penny hit a 3-pointer right out of the media timeout to put Ball State back up 76-68. The Chippewas would score the next four baskets to take their first lead since the first quarter, 78-76, with 2:18 on the clock. After that, Ball State couldn't regain control and would be held to only two field goals the remainder of the contest.
The Ball State women's basketball team will end its Mid-American Conference regular season at Eastern Michigan Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Convocation Center.
The Cardinals have already earned a first round bye to the upcoming 2018 MAC Tournament in Cleveland with their victory over Toledo on Feb. 24. This marks the fifth time under sixth year head coach Brady Sallee the Cardinals have earned their ticket straight to Cleveland.
Team Stats
BALLST
CMU
FG%
.508
.434
3FG%
.400
.345
FT%
.750
.923
RB
36
38
TO
18
10
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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