Wednesday, March 11
Cleveland, Ohio
Approx. 5:00 PM
Ball State University
21-10,13-5MAC
63
vs
64
Eastern Michigan
16-15,9-9MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Eastern Mich.
18
13
16
17
64
Ball St.
19
14
19
11
63
Photo by: David Dermer
Cards Drop Heartbreaker to Eastern Michigan in MAC Tournament
March 11, 2020 | Women's Basketball
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Oshlynn Brown's potential game-winning jumper with three seconds remaining was off the mark, as Eastern Michigan escaped with a 64-63 win over Ball State in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament Wednesday afternoon at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Eastern Michigan, the No. 7 seed, advanced to face the winner of No. 3 Kent State and No. 6 Buffalo in tomorrow's semifinals.
"We knew it was going to be this kind of game – a one-possession game, back and forth, tough, physical," Ball State head coach Brady Sallee said. "It came down to them probably making one more play than we did, nothing more, nothing less."
Ball State (21-10), the tournament's No. 2 seed, capitalized on a Brown lay-in late in the third quarter to give the Cardinals the largest lead of the game, 52-45.
Eastern Michigan (16-15) responded with an 11-0 run to seize control of the contest. A Thelma Dis Agustsdottir 3-pointer briefly tied the game again with 5:57 left, 59-59, but the Cardinals were never able to regain the lead.
Courtnie Lewis netted her fourth 3-pointer on EMU's ensuing possession to put the Eagles in front for good. Areanna Combs then made a bucket to stretch the Eastern Michigan lead back to five points, 64-59, with 4:42 remaining.
Ball State clawed its way back to within one point, 64-63, with 2:49 showing thanks to a Jasmin Samz mid-range jumper.
However, the Cardinals came up empty on their final three possessions. Sydney Freeman, who hit a personal-high five 3-pointers, had a 3-point attempt rattle in-and-out with 2:14 on the clock. Samz was whistled for a charge with a little more than a minute left. Finally, Brown came up short on her jumper in the waning seconds.
The game was close throughout, with 14 lead changes and 11 ties. Ball State held slim leads of 33-31 at the half and 52-47 after the third quarter.
Combs (23 points) and Lewis (20) combined for 43 points to lead Eastern Michigan to its first semifinal appearance since 2016.
Freeman paced the Cardinals with a team-high 17 points on 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) shooting from behind the arc. Brown, the team's leading scorer, was held to single digits (7 points) for the first time in seven games.
"I'm awfully proud of my group for the fight and heart we played with," Sallee said. "We've had a heck of a year and hopefully Monday night we find out we get to keep playing again."
For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State women's basketball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWBB and @BSUCoachBrady.
Eastern Michigan, the No. 7 seed, advanced to face the winner of No. 3 Kent State and No. 6 Buffalo in tomorrow's semifinals.
"We knew it was going to be this kind of game – a one-possession game, back and forth, tough, physical," Ball State head coach Brady Sallee said. "It came down to them probably making one more play than we did, nothing more, nothing less."
Ball State (21-10), the tournament's No. 2 seed, capitalized on a Brown lay-in late in the third quarter to give the Cardinals the largest lead of the game, 52-45.
Eastern Michigan (16-15) responded with an 11-0 run to seize control of the contest. A Thelma Dis Agustsdottir 3-pointer briefly tied the game again with 5:57 left, 59-59, but the Cardinals were never able to regain the lead.
Courtnie Lewis netted her fourth 3-pointer on EMU's ensuing possession to put the Eagles in front for good. Areanna Combs then made a bucket to stretch the Eastern Michigan lead back to five points, 64-59, with 4:42 remaining.
Ball State clawed its way back to within one point, 64-63, with 2:49 showing thanks to a Jasmin Samz mid-range jumper.
However, the Cardinals came up empty on their final three possessions. Sydney Freeman, who hit a personal-high five 3-pointers, had a 3-point attempt rattle in-and-out with 2:14 on the clock. Samz was whistled for a charge with a little more than a minute left. Finally, Brown came up short on her jumper in the waning seconds.
The game was close throughout, with 14 lead changes and 11 ties. Ball State held slim leads of 33-31 at the half and 52-47 after the third quarter.
Combs (23 points) and Lewis (20) combined for 43 points to lead Eastern Michigan to its first semifinal appearance since 2016.
Freeman paced the Cardinals with a team-high 17 points on 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) shooting from behind the arc. Brown, the team's leading scorer, was held to single digits (7 points) for the first time in seven games.
"I'm awfully proud of my group for the fight and heart we played with," Sallee said. "We've had a heck of a year and hopefully Monday night we find out we get to keep playing again."
For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State women's basketball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWBB and @BSUCoachBrady.
Team Stats
EMU
BSU
FG%
.400
.431
3FG%
.333
.353
FT%
.786
.722
RB
34
33
TO
11
16
STL
9
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballF
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/ Women's BasketballG
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