Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
8-4,1-1MAC
Northern Illinois University
3-7,0-2MAC
Women’s Basketball Outlasts Northern Illinois In Overtime
January 05, 2022 | Women's Basketball
DEKALB, Ill. – With three seconds left in overtime, redshirt junior Anna Clephane corralled a rebound of a missed free throw and deposited the ball into the net to lift the Ball State women's basketball team to an 83-82 overtime victory over Northern Illinois Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
It was the only lead the Cardinals (8-4; 1-1 Mid-American Conference) would have in the extra frame and would cap a 9-2 scoring spree in which BSU rallied from down six over the final 2:20 to top the Huskies (3-7; 0-2 MAC).
The bucket gave Clephane a team-best 22 points and marked the fourth time this season, and eighth time in her career, she has scored at least 20 points in a game.
.@AnnaClephane with the rebound and the basket for the WIN???? pic.twitter.com/rw7Zmi8XKg
— Ball State WBB (@BallStateWBB) January 6, 2022
After the game, Ball State head women's basketball head coach Brady Sallee said he knew the team needed to get the offensive rebound and Clephane delivered it, along with the winning tally. Sallee went on to say it was a gutsy win for the Cardinals,especially on the road. He gave his team credit for playing well throughout the contest because it was a heck of a ball game.
If you watched the game, you would have thought the Cardinals had this one in the bag, especially after the first three quarters. Ball State had the lead for 39:14 of the first 45 minutes of the contest. BSU's biggest lead was a 13-point cushion (25-12) at the 1:14 mark in the first quarter following a fast break jumper from Ivet Subirats.
The Huskies managed to fight their way back little by little, taking their first lead of the game (74-72) with 34 seconds remaining in regulation. BSU junior Jazmyn Turner would come in clutch with a layup as time winded down, sending the game into OT.
Clephane opened tonight's contest with a quick layup, sparking an 11-2 scoring spree for the Cardinals with just 7:52 shaved off the game clock. Clephane would then hit another jumper with 5:05 left in the first frame of action to give the Cardinals an 18-7 edge.
Ball State continued its strong offense, especially from behind arc, in the second quarter to pull ahead 40-32 over the Huskies at intermission.
For the game, Ball State connected on 11 three-pointers, with five different Cardinals having at least one make from behind the arc. Northern Illinois, the top rebounding team in the league, was out rebounded by Ball State, 45-42.
Four Cardinals finished the night in double figures, including two topping the 20-point mark. Along with Clephane's 22-point performance, junior Sydney Freeman finished the night with 20 points. Turner had a season best 11 points and six rebounds while freshman Ally Becki rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10.
The Ball State women's basketball team returns home Saturday when it hosts Mid-American Conference rival Miami at 1 p.m. ET in Worthen Arena. The Cardinals game day sponsor against the RedHawks is LifeStream Services.
Fans can purchase tickets to the game by calling the Stoops Buick/GMC Ticket Center at 888.BSU.TICKET or 765.285.1474 to join the Cardinal Family inside Worthen Arena! Season and group tickets are also on sale now, while single game tickets are also available online at Ticketmaster.com.
