Wednesday, March 7
Cleveland, Ohio
7:30 p.m.
Ball State University
65
vs
54
No. 6 Western Michigan (MAC Quarterfinals)
Photo by: Jeff Harwell
Ball State Falls to WMU in MAC Quarterfinals, 65-54
March 07, 2018 | Women's Basketball
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Western Michigan Broncos took down the Ball State women's basketball team in the 2018 Mid-American Conference
Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday evening in Quicken Loans Arena, 65-54.
Western Michigan (18-14), the No. 6 seed, advances to play No. 2 seed Buffalo Friday in the semifinals. Ball State (24-6), which entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed, will now have to wait to find out its postseason destination.
Western Michigan made its presence felt as soon as the game began, scoring 13 of the first 17 points, and never looked back. The Broncos hit eight three-pointers in the first half and shot 53.3 percent from behind the arc. Meanwhile, WMU held Ball State to just six made field goals for the entire half. Western took a 37-18 lead into halftime. The 18 points were the lowest for the Cardinals at intermission all season.
The Broncos stretched their lead to as many as 26 points midway through the third quarter, 44-18, before Ball State started to slowly fight back.
Ball State used a 12-1 spurt to close the gap to 15 points, 45-30, with 2:35 left in the third quarter. A Jasmin Samz three-pointer followed by a fast-break lay-up from Nakeya Penny got the Cardinals to within 11 points with 5:30 left, 57-46. One minute later, Carmen Grande came up with a three-pointer to make it an eight-point spread, 57-49.
However, Western Michigan responded with back-to-back buckets from Breanna Mobley to essentially end any thoughts of a Ball State comeback.
The Cardinals scored a season-low 54 points and were held to their second worst shooting night of the year (36.4 percent).
Grande led all players with 16 points while going 3-for-3 from behind the arc. Freshman Oshlynn Brown, the MAC Sixth Player of the Year, added 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double.
Four players reached double figures for Western Michigan led by Najee Smith's 14 tallies. Deja Wimby finished with her fourth straight double-double as the point guard notched 12 points and 10 assists.
Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday evening in Quicken Loans Arena, 65-54.
Western Michigan (18-14), the No. 6 seed, advances to play No. 2 seed Buffalo Friday in the semifinals. Ball State (24-6), which entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed, will now have to wait to find out its postseason destination.
Western Michigan made its presence felt as soon as the game began, scoring 13 of the first 17 points, and never looked back. The Broncos hit eight three-pointers in the first half and shot 53.3 percent from behind the arc. Meanwhile, WMU held Ball State to just six made field goals for the entire half. Western took a 37-18 lead into halftime. The 18 points were the lowest for the Cardinals at intermission all season.
The Broncos stretched their lead to as many as 26 points midway through the third quarter, 44-18, before Ball State started to slowly fight back.
Ball State used a 12-1 spurt to close the gap to 15 points, 45-30, with 2:35 left in the third quarter. A Jasmin Samz three-pointer followed by a fast-break lay-up from Nakeya Penny got the Cardinals to within 11 points with 5:30 left, 57-46. One minute later, Carmen Grande came up with a three-pointer to make it an eight-point spread, 57-49.
However, Western Michigan responded with back-to-back buckets from Breanna Mobley to essentially end any thoughts of a Ball State comeback.
The Cardinals scored a season-low 54 points and were held to their second worst shooting night of the year (36.4 percent).
Grande led all players with 16 points while going 3-for-3 from behind the arc. Freshman Oshlynn Brown, the MAC Sixth Player of the Year, added 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double.
Four players reached double figures for Western Michigan led by Najee Smith's 14 tallies. Deja Wimby finished with her fourth straight double-double as the point guard notched 12 points and 10 assists.
Players Mentioned
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