Agustsdottir, Clephane, Rauch Lead WBB to Bounce-Back Win Over St. Joseph’s 73-67

Sunday, November 28

Katy, Texas

2:30 pm ET | 1:30 CT

Ball State University

3-2,0-0MAC

Saint Joseph's University

1-6,0-0Atlantic 10

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Saint Joseph's	26	11	15	15	67
Ball St.	16	19	13	25	73

Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services

Agustsdottir, Clephane, Rauch Lead WBB to Bounce-Back Win Over St. Joseph’s 73-67

November 28, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

KATY, Texas - The Ball State women's basketball team went on a 16-3 run in the last four minutes of the game and shot 8-of-9 from the field. The Cardinals bounced back for a 73-67 victory over Saint Joseph's Sunday afternoon at the Merrell Center in their final game of the Van Chancellor Classic.

Even though the Cardinals (3-2) had to play catchup pretty much the entire contest against Saint Joseph's (1-6) after falling behind by a 14-point (24-10) margin in the opening quarter. That deficit never really concerned Ball State 10th-year women's basketball coach Brady Sallee. Sallee said after the game that "he thought his team had a sense of calmness about them and he wasn't sure if it was because his team was tired, or they weren't all with it but there was definitely a calmness throughout the game which he thought was a good thing."

Saint Joseph's held onto the lead for 36:23 of today's 40 minutes of playing time and it seemed as if they would go home with the W until junior Annie Rauch who came off the bench would give Ball State back the life it needed to fight back.

After the game Sallee said, "Rauch was huge for them because she got the rebounds they needed and played well for them. It was really good to see her presence on the court make such an impact."

At the 2:39 mark in the final quarter, junior Sydney Freeman nailed a 3-point basket to give Ball State its first lead of the contest (64-62). Redshirt junior Anna Clephane followed by making a layup off the dish from Freeman.

Senior Thelma Dis Agustsdottir then put the icing on the cake by draining one from behind the arc to give the Cardinals a 69-62 advantage with just a little over a minute remaining.

The Hawks were stunned of course and tried to recuperate but Rauch went 2-for-2 from the free throw line which pretty much sealed the win for the Cardinals, shattering all hopes of a Saint Joseph's comeback.

For the game, Agustsdottir led the squad with 13 points while Clephane and Rauch each had 12 points apiece. Defensively, Agustsdottir pulled down six boards while Rauch finished with five.

The Ball State women's basketball team returns home Saturday to Worthen Arena when it hosts Pitt for a 1 p.m. ET tipoff.

To get tickets to the game you can call 888.BSU.TICKET or 765.285.1474 to join the Cardinal Family inside Worthen Arena! Season and group tickets are on sale now. Single game tickets are also available at the numbers listed above, and online at Ticketmaster.com.