Ball State University
7-3,0-0MAC
Bellarmine University
2-8,0-0ASUN
Clephane Scores Career High 26 Points in WBB’s Win Over Bellarmine
December 20, 2021 | Women's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - Behind redshirt junior Anna Clephane's career high 26 points the Ball State women's basketball team (7-3) was able to close out its 2021 non-conference portion of its schedule with an 84-63 win over Bellarmine (2-8) Monday night in Worthen Arena.
"I thought Bellarmine came out with a lot of want to. They were here to play, and I don't if we were to be honest with you," Ball State Head Coach Brady Sallee said. "This is always a tough time of year because are you in the gym or are you halfway home for the holidays. Maybe it wasn't the best scheduling in the world playing a 2-7 team. If this was a 7-2 team, I think our interest level might have been different, but you must be mature enough as a Division I basketball player to respect everybody. I give Bellarmine a lot of credit they were the aggressor throughout most of the game, but we took care of the ball, and our stat sheet didn't really look a lot different other than our rebounding."
Sallee was right about the Cardinals stats not being much different from their previous contests this season. Ball State outscored Bellarmine 40-26 in the paint while also shooting 54 percent from the field along with knocking down 10 three pointers. The only stat lacking was rebounding as the Knights won that battle over the Cardinals, 34-29.
Ball State placed two in double figures, Clephane's personal high of 26 points and senior Thelma Dis Agustsdottir ended the night with 18.
After a tight opening quarter, Ball State was able to set the tone late with a 10-4 run that would give the Cardinals a comfortable 24-15 edge over Bellarmine heading into the second frame of action.
Although, Ball State was not necessarily struggling from the field, it was Bellarmine's desire to not give up that continued to give Ball State some trouble throughout the first half. Ball State was unable to grasp onto a double-digit lead up until the 3:41 mark of the second quarter when Jazmyn Turner hit jumper off a rebound making it a 36-26 ball game.
Prior to halftime, some unforeseen miscues by Ball State allowed Bellarmine to stay within reach of the Cardinals. A once 10-point lead by the Cardinals was shaved down to six (38-32) at intermission.
Ball State opened the second half with a 9-4 run with Agustsdottir scoring five of those nine points to give the Cardinals a 47-36 cushion over the Knights with seven minutes to go in the third period.
But just like the first half, Bellarmine continued to chomp at the heels of Ball State. As a matter of fact, it was becoming a game of you give an inch you take an inch. Fortunately for the Cardinals they took more than they gave, eventually building a 61-45 cushion with 1:41 left in the third quarter.
The Cardinals outscored the Knights 24-15 in the third frame, a stat that Bellarmine couldn't recover from in the final quarter.
The Ball State women's basketball team will open Mid-American Conference action against Western Michigan on Dec. 29 in Worthen Arena at 6:30 p.m. ET. It is also Ball State Basketball's "Take a Kid to a Game" days at Worthen Arena. With one paid adult ticket purchased, two kids 13-and-under will receive a complimentary ticket.
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.
