Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
9-5,2-2MAC
Eastern Michigan University
4-6,1-2MAC
WBB Shows Depth In Impressive MAC Road Win At EMU
January 12, 2022 | Women's Basketball
YPSILANTI, Mich. - The Ball State women's basketball team made sure its presence was felt early on in tonight's contest. BSU carried that momentum to the very end as the Cardinals earned an impressive 83-73 road win at Eastern Michigan Wednesday night in the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
From start to finish, the Cardinals (9-5, 2-2 MAC) dominated on both offense and defense against the Eagles (4-6, 1-2 MAC).
The Cardinals came into tonight's contest having to face a lot of adversity as Ball State played without its leading scorer, redshirt junior Anna Clephane.
After the game, Ball State head coach Brady Sallee was asked who stepped up in tonight's win over EMU. Sallee said, "the team had been through a lot the last few days on top of getting a game thrown out at them Sunday, along with having to play three games this week, including two on the road and having to watch their teammate go down. The entire team and coaching staff had to step up. It wasn't going to be one person that would fill Anna's shoes tonight. I told the team that they needed to step up tonight with their hearts."
The Cardinals listened to Sallee and played their hearts out tonight and the stats proved it.
Ball State outrebounded Eastern Michigan 38-24. BSU also won the points in the paint battle, 15-13, and at one point at the 8:31 mark in the final stanza had built its largest lead of the ball game, 68-48.
Ball State also placed five Cardinals in double figures with graduate student Chyna Latimer leading the way with a personal best 17-point performance. Junior Sydney Freeman chipped in 15 points, while junior Annie Rauch had 12. Rounding out the double-figure scoring was junior Estel Puiggros with 11 and senior Thelma Dis Agustsdottir who finished the night with 10. Defensively, freshman Ally Becki pulled down nine rebounds for the Cardinals.
The all-around offensive success also had a lot to do with the team's unselfishness, which was apparent as the Cardinals tallied 16 assists, with Becki and Freeman dishing out a game-high four apiece.
The Cardinals opened the contest on a mission. Back-to-back layups from freshman Marie Kiefer and Latimer allowed Ball State to take an early 9-2 lead over Eastern Michigan with just three minutes shaved off the game clock. Ball State would go on to finish the first period with a 25-13 edge.
Ball State continued to control the tempo in the second stanza and would end the half on a high note with a 3-pointer from Puiggros at the buzzer to give the Cardinals the 50-34 lead over the Eagles at intermission.
The Ball State women's basketball team continues Mid-American Conference action Saturday when it travels to Akron for a 2 p.m. ET tipoff in James A. Rhodes Arena.
