Sunday, December 20
Akron, OH
2:00 PM
Ball State University
3-3,1-1MAC
67
at
60
University of Akron
3-2,0-2MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Ball St.
18
17
20
12
67
Akron
16
16
16
12
60
WBB Out Toughs Akron For First MAC Win Of the Season
December 20, 2020 | Women's Basketball
AKRON, Ohio - The holidays came early for Ball State women's basketball, as the team out-toughed Akron by a score of 67-60 for its first Mid-American Conference win of the season Sunday at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Going into today's contest, head coach Brady Sallee said he told his Cardinals (3-3, 1-1 MAC) they had three keys that had to happen to win against a tough Zips (3-2, 0-2 MAC) squad. The first one Sallee said was that Ball State had to rebound the ball plus-10, and the Cardinals did just that 45-to-34.
The second and third keys were playing with a high intensity level and toughness. The Cardinals scored 12 second chance points and pulled down some key rebounds while stealing the ball 10 times to accomplish the final two goals.
Ball State placed three in double figures, led by sophomore Sydney Freeman who scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the first half. Preseason All-MAC selection senior Oshlynn Brown nabbed the 34th double-double of her career with a 15-point, 11-rebound performance. Newcomer Essence Booker also hit some key shots in today's game, ending the day with 14 points.
The opening minutes of the contest started off a little rocky as Akron took an early 5-0 lead. Brown then went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe after drawing the foul from the Zips' Colleen Neitzel which sparked a 12-2 run that gave Ball State a 14-7 lead over Akron at the 2:46 mark. Freeman's early offensive spark helped the Cardinals the remainder of the first half, as she capped it with a steal and fast break layup to give Ball State the slight 35-32 edge at intermission.
It continued to be an up and down ball game up until the 5:35 mark of the third frame, when junior Blake Smith nailed a 3-pointer off of the dish from Freeman. That 3-pointer was something Smith had worked on perfecting during the off season and today her hard work paid off. Booker, who continues to be a strong force offensively for the Cardinals answered with another 3-pointer moments later to put Ball State up by seven (46-39).
Akron wasn't going to go away quietly, however, as the Zips started to make their move heading into the final 10 minutes of action. At the 8:07 mark in the fourth period, Akron had put together an 10-2 scoring spree which shaved the Cardinals once nine-point advantage (55-46) to within one (57-56).
Freeman again answered for the Cardinals with a layup to keep Ball State on top. Ball State continued to keep up the toughness and would hold onto the lead the remainder of the contest.
The Ball State women's basketball team will continue Mid-American Conference action on Jan. 2 as the Cardinals host Bowling Green in Worthen Arena. The time for the contest has not yet been set so please continue to follow @BallStateSports, @BSUCoachBrady and @BallStateWBB along with ballstatesports.com for all your game day details.
Going into today's contest, head coach Brady Sallee said he told his Cardinals (3-3, 1-1 MAC) they had three keys that had to happen to win against a tough Zips (3-2, 0-2 MAC) squad. The first one Sallee said was that Ball State had to rebound the ball plus-10, and the Cardinals did just that 45-to-34.
The second and third keys were playing with a high intensity level and toughness. The Cardinals scored 12 second chance points and pulled down some key rebounds while stealing the ball 10 times to accomplish the final two goals.
Ball State placed three in double figures, led by sophomore Sydney Freeman who scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the first half. Preseason All-MAC selection senior Oshlynn Brown nabbed the 34th double-double of her career with a 15-point, 11-rebound performance. Newcomer Essence Booker also hit some key shots in today's game, ending the day with 14 points.
The opening minutes of the contest started off a little rocky as Akron took an early 5-0 lead. Brown then went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe after drawing the foul from the Zips' Colleen Neitzel which sparked a 12-2 run that gave Ball State a 14-7 lead over Akron at the 2:46 mark. Freeman's early offensive spark helped the Cardinals the remainder of the first half, as she capped it with a steal and fast break layup to give Ball State the slight 35-32 edge at intermission.
It continued to be an up and down ball game up until the 5:35 mark of the third frame, when junior Blake Smith nailed a 3-pointer off of the dish from Freeman. That 3-pointer was something Smith had worked on perfecting during the off season and today her hard work paid off. Booker, who continues to be a strong force offensively for the Cardinals answered with another 3-pointer moments later to put Ball State up by seven (46-39).
Akron wasn't going to go away quietly, however, as the Zips started to make their move heading into the final 10 minutes of action. At the 8:07 mark in the fourth period, Akron had put together an 10-2 scoring spree which shaved the Cardinals once nine-point advantage (55-46) to within one (57-56).
Freeman again answered for the Cardinals with a layup to keep Ball State on top. Ball State continued to keep up the toughness and would hold onto the lead the remainder of the contest.
The Ball State women's basketball team will continue Mid-American Conference action on Jan. 2 as the Cardinals host Bowling Green in Worthen Arena. The time for the contest has not yet been set so please continue to follow @BallStateSports, @BSUCoachBrady and @BallStateWBB along with ballstatesports.com for all your game day details.
Team Stats
BSU
UA
FG%
.397
.385
3FG%
.292
.310
FT%
.636
.500
RB
45
34
TO
18
17
STL
10
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
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