Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
16-11,9-8MAC
Northern Illinois University
13-13,10-8MAC
Agustsdottir Scores 20 In WBB's Loss To Northern Illinois
February 26, 2022 | Women's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State women's basketball team (16-11, 8-8 MAC) suffered a 77-72 setback to Northern Illinois (13-13, 9-8 MAC) Saturday afternoon in Worthen Arena.
Going into today's contest, the Cardinals knew they would they would be in for a battle on the glass. For the game, NIU out-rebounded BSU, 37-28. Points in the paint were also problematic as the Huskies outscored the Cardinals, 38-26.
Senior Thelma Dis Agustsdottir was on fire from behind arc today as she led Ball State in scoring with 20 points after knocking down six 3-pointers and finishing 7-of-13 from the field. Freshmen Ally Becki and Marie Kiefer both reached double-figure scoring as well, scoring 19 and 11, respectively.
The Cardinals were unstoppable from behind the arc in the first quarter of action. Becki started a domino effect with her 3-pointer at the 6:24 mark. Shortly after, Agustsdottir knocked one down, as did Kiefer. Agustsdottir's second 3-pointer of the day was just under the two-minute mark to give Ball State a 17-9 advantage over Northern Illinois. All five field goals from BSU in the first quarter were from 3-point range.
In the second quarter, Northern Illinois managed to come back and tie the game 22-22 with 5:26 left in the second frame with most of its damage inside the paint and the free throw line.
Junior Sydney Freeman was able to thread the needle to Kiefer, and junior Estel Puiggros added a 3-point basket that put BSU back up by five (27-22). The remainder of the first half turned into a back-and-forth affair, but a team effort that involved baskets from Puiggros and key rebounds from Kiefer allowed BSU to take the 31-26 lead over NIU at intermission.
After the break, it was Northern Illinois' ball game as the Huskies outscored the Cardinals 29-12 to take a 55-43 cushion into the last quarter of play.
Unfortunately, Ball State couldn't catch its footing and the Cardinals were plagued by turnovers. NIU's 12-point third quarter lead was too much for the Cardinals to overcome in the fourth stanza. The Huskies would extend their lead even further (62-46) at the 7:33 mark.
Ball State continued to fight back and got it down to single digits. Back-to-back baskets from Becki made it a 68-59 contest with 3:48 left. BSU also turned up its defense, making it a 72-65 ball game with 1:13 left in the game.
Puiggros knocked down a 3-point basket to make it 75-70 with 14 seconds left, but the Huskies managed to hold on tight with made free throws the remainder of the way for today's victory.
The Ball State women's basketball team will next play at Central Michigan on Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m. ET in McQuirk Arena.
