Wednesday, March 10
Cleveland, Ohio
6:45
Ball State University
14-11,12-8MAC
59
vs
61
#3 Ohio University
14-7,11-6MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Ball St.
13
14
17
15
59
Ohio
14
9
26
12
61
Photo by: Bobby Ellis (Ball State Creative Services)
Cardinals Fall to Ohio in Spirited MAC Quarterfinal as Brown Grabs Record 22 Rebounds
March 10, 2021 | Women's Basketball
Thelma Dis Agustsdottir hits final seven 3's on her way to a game-high 21 points
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The box scored had plenty of signs seemingly pointing to a Ball State victory in Wednesday's last quarterfinal game at the MAC Women's Basketball Tournament.
Senior post player Oshlynn Brown set a school record with 22 rebounds. Thelma Dis Agustsdottir hit her last seven 3-point attempts on the way to 21 points. And BSU held MAC Player of the Year Cece Hooks to 8-of-28 shooting and just five second-half points. The Bobcats as a team managed only 31 percent shooting for the night.
Still, when the final buzzer sounded at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, the Cardinals were barely on the wrong end: Ohio 61, Ball State 59.
A sloppy opening 20 minutes by both teams gave way to a compelling back-and-forth in the second half. Ball State (14-11) led by as many as seven early in the half, trailed by as many as eight and had a chance to tie or take the lead in the final minute.
But Sydney Freeman's driving lay-in was blocked with 19 seconds left, and the Cardinals, who had not yet committed a fourth-quarter foul, spent the rest of the time frantically trying to send Ohio to the free throw line as the Bobcats (14-7) ran out the clock.
"I'm really proud of the fight we played with and how hard we went at it," BSU head coach Brady Sallee said. "Ohio's a good basketball team. We knew that. We're a good basketball team. We knew that. It was just one of those games where neither team was going to give in. It came down to the end, and they made one more play."
The Cardinals entered the tournament with the third-most wins of any team in the league but were seeded sixth based on winning percentages with teams having played different numbers of games in this COVID year. Their reward was to face the third-seeded Bobcats and two of the top players in the conference.
Ball State did as well as it could have hoped against Hooks even though she finished with 21 points. It was a hobbled Erica Johnson, one game back from injury, who was the difference maker in the second half.
Scoreless in the first half, Johnson caught fire in the third quarter with four 3-pointers. She hit 5-of-7 from deep in the second half of the way to 19 points.
Dis Agustsdottir more than matched her to keep the Cardinals close. After missing her first four 3-point attempts of the game, she hit one late in the first half and then made all six she attempted in the second. Her triple with 53 seconds left pulled BSU within two a 61-59, but it proved to be the final bucket of the game.
Brown, already the school's all-time leading rebounder, finished with 12 points to go along with her 22 rebounds. Essence Booker, who carried the scoring load in the first half, added 11 points.
Turnovers bit the Cardinals on this night, as BSU gave the ball away 21 times. Ohio only managed to convert them into six points, but Ball State wound up with 14 fewer shot attempts for the game.
Senior post player Oshlynn Brown set a school record with 22 rebounds. Thelma Dis Agustsdottir hit her last seven 3-point attempts on the way to 21 points. And BSU held MAC Player of the Year Cece Hooks to 8-of-28 shooting and just five second-half points. The Bobcats as a team managed only 31 percent shooting for the night.
Still, when the final buzzer sounded at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, the Cardinals were barely on the wrong end: Ohio 61, Ball State 59.
A sloppy opening 20 minutes by both teams gave way to a compelling back-and-forth in the second half. Ball State (14-11) led by as many as seven early in the half, trailed by as many as eight and had a chance to tie or take the lead in the final minute.
But Sydney Freeman's driving lay-in was blocked with 19 seconds left, and the Cardinals, who had not yet committed a fourth-quarter foul, spent the rest of the time frantically trying to send Ohio to the free throw line as the Bobcats (14-7) ran out the clock.
"I'm really proud of the fight we played with and how hard we went at it," BSU head coach Brady Sallee said. "Ohio's a good basketball team. We knew that. We're a good basketball team. We knew that. It was just one of those games where neither team was going to give in. It came down to the end, and they made one more play."
The Cardinals entered the tournament with the third-most wins of any team in the league but were seeded sixth based on winning percentages with teams having played different numbers of games in this COVID year. Their reward was to face the third-seeded Bobcats and two of the top players in the conference.
Ball State did as well as it could have hoped against Hooks even though she finished with 21 points. It was a hobbled Erica Johnson, one game back from injury, who was the difference maker in the second half.
Scoreless in the first half, Johnson caught fire in the third quarter with four 3-pointers. She hit 5-of-7 from deep in the second half of the way to 19 points.
Dis Agustsdottir more than matched her to keep the Cardinals close. After missing her first four 3-point attempts of the game, she hit one late in the first half and then made all six she attempted in the second. Her triple with 53 seconds left pulled BSU within two a 61-59, but it proved to be the final bucket of the game.
Brown, already the school's all-time leading rebounder, finished with 12 points to go along with her 22 rebounds. Essence Booker, who carried the scoring load in the first half, added 11 points.
Turnovers bit the Cardinals on this night, as BSU gave the ball away 21 times. Ohio only managed to convert them into six points, but Ball State wound up with 14 fewer shot attempts for the game.
Team Stats
BSU
Ohio
FG%
.375
.314
3FG%
.333
.323
FT%
.778
.875
RB
45
37
TO
21
10
STL
4
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
7
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
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