Sunday, March 18
Muncie, Ind.
2:00 pm
Ball State University
25-7
72
vs
77
Purdue University
20-13
1
2
3
4
F
Purdue
21
14
20
22
77
Ball State
15
16
23
18
72
WBB's Comeback Falls Short Against Purdue In WNIT
March 18, 2018 | Women's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State women's basketball team suffered a tough 77-72 loss at home to Big Ten foe Purdue Sunday afternoon in Worthen Arena in the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament.
With the loss, the Cardinals finished their season with a 25-6 overall record while the Boilermakers improve to 20-13 for the year and will advance to the Final 16 against Indiana.
This marked the sixth straight WNIT appearance and ninth overall for the Cardinals. Ball State ended the year with much success including an 11-0 record in non-conference action and was one of only seven teams nationally to accomplish that goal. The Cardinals also received votes this year in both the USA Today Coaches and AP Top 25 polls.
In her last game, senior forward Moriah Monaco led the Cardinals with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Senior forward Destiny Washington had 12 points and five rebounds while teammate junior guard Nakeya Penny came off the bench to score 11 points in today's contest. Freshman forward Oshlynn Brown finished the game with 10 rebounds.
Both teams played strong defensively but the key factor to today's contest was shooting. Purdue shot 52 percent from the field and also the 3-point line while going 80 percent from the charity stripe. Ball State on the other hand did not have its best performance from the floor, after shooting 36 percent from the field, 23 percent from behind the arc and 69 percent from the free throw line.
Purdue started off strong at the start of the contest, outscoring the Cardinals 21-to-15 in the first quarter. The Boilermakers carried that momentum into the second frame, eventually building their largest lead of the half, 33-20, with 3:55 remaining on the clock. After that, junior guard Jasmin Samz knocked down a 3-pointer and the Cardinals would close out the half with an 11-to-2 run to bring Ball State within four (35-31) of Purdue at intermission.
The third quarter opened as a tight affair, as the Cardinals kept the game close and would not let the Boilermakers take a double-digit lead the entire 10 minutes of play. A fast break layup from sophomore forward Aliyah Walker off of a steal and assist from Brown at the 2:39 mark would make it a four-point game (50-46). Purdue answered with back-to-back baskets to go back up 53-46 but the Cardinals drew some fouls sending Monaco and Grande to the line to head into the final frame trailing the Boilermakers by one.
Penny hit a layup at the start of fourth quarter to give the Cardinals their first lead since the beginning of the contest, 56-55. But Purdue fought back and would go back up by 11 (69-58) at the 4:50 mark. After that, Monaco nailed a 3-pointer, which sparked an 11-0 run for the Cardinals. Ball State also picked up its defense to tie the game 69-69 with 1:19 left in the contest. But the Cardinals would get frustrated in the closing minute, sending Purdue to the line eight times. The Boilermakers went 8-of-8 from the charity stripe to secure the win for Purdue.
With the loss, the Cardinals finished their season with a 25-6 overall record while the Boilermakers improve to 20-13 for the year and will advance to the Final 16 against Indiana.
This marked the sixth straight WNIT appearance and ninth overall for the Cardinals. Ball State ended the year with much success including an 11-0 record in non-conference action and was one of only seven teams nationally to accomplish that goal. The Cardinals also received votes this year in both the USA Today Coaches and AP Top 25 polls.
In her last game, senior forward Moriah Monaco led the Cardinals with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Senior forward Destiny Washington had 12 points and five rebounds while teammate junior guard Nakeya Penny came off the bench to score 11 points in today's contest. Freshman forward Oshlynn Brown finished the game with 10 rebounds.
Both teams played strong defensively but the key factor to today's contest was shooting. Purdue shot 52 percent from the field and also the 3-point line while going 80 percent from the charity stripe. Ball State on the other hand did not have its best performance from the floor, after shooting 36 percent from the field, 23 percent from behind the arc and 69 percent from the free throw line.
Purdue started off strong at the start of the contest, outscoring the Cardinals 21-to-15 in the first quarter. The Boilermakers carried that momentum into the second frame, eventually building their largest lead of the half, 33-20, with 3:55 remaining on the clock. After that, junior guard Jasmin Samz knocked down a 3-pointer and the Cardinals would close out the half with an 11-to-2 run to bring Ball State within four (35-31) of Purdue at intermission.
The third quarter opened as a tight affair, as the Cardinals kept the game close and would not let the Boilermakers take a double-digit lead the entire 10 minutes of play. A fast break layup from sophomore forward Aliyah Walker off of a steal and assist from Brown at the 2:39 mark would make it a four-point game (50-46). Purdue answered with back-to-back baskets to go back up 53-46 but the Cardinals drew some fouls sending Monaco and Grande to the line to head into the final frame trailing the Boilermakers by one.
Penny hit a layup at the start of fourth quarter to give the Cardinals their first lead since the beginning of the contest, 56-55. But Purdue fought back and would go back up by 11 (69-58) at the 4:50 mark. After that, Monaco nailed a 3-pointer, which sparked an 11-0 run for the Cardinals. Ball State also picked up its defense to tie the game 69-69 with 1:19 left in the contest. But the Cardinals would get frustrated in the closing minute, sending Purdue to the line eight times. The Boilermakers went 8-of-8 from the charity stripe to secure the win for Purdue.
Team Stats
PUR
BALLST
FG%
.528
.363
3FG%
.529
.238
FT%
.800
.692
RB
41
39
TO
22
9
STL
2
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
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