Saturday, February 25
Muncie, Ind.
1 pm
Ball State University
23-6,13-3MAC
70
vs
72
University of Toledo
23-4,14-2MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Toledo
14
28
18
12
72
Ball St.
16
19
12
23
70
Photo by: Bobby Ellis (Ball State Creative Services)
Women’s Basketball’s Comeback Falls Short In 72-70 Loss To Toledo
February 25, 2023 | Women's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. – Trailing by 10 with 2:32 remaining in Saturday's contest, the Ball State women's basketball team mounted a furious comeback and had a chance to send the game into overtime with 0.4 seconds remaining.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals' (23-6, 13-3 Mid-American Conference) were unable to get its last-second shot off in time, suffering a 72-70 setback to Toledo inside Worthen Arena.
Statistically, both teams were similar in most categories. Ball State shot better from the field (44.6) than the Rockets (23-4, 13-3 MAC) and were strong from 3-point range (36.0). A lot of the game came down to free throws which Toledo currently leads the MAC from the charity stripe.
The Rockets were sent to the line 29 times and made 22 of their free throws which ultimately helped them snap the longest homecourt winning streak in Ball State women's basketball history at 14 games.
The entire 40 minutes was an emotional rollercoaster as both teams were on a mission to stay in the hunt to be crowned the MAC regular season champions and to earn the No. 1 seed in the upcoming 2023 MAC Tournament in Cleveland.
The Cardinals also celebrated seniors Anna Clephane and Thelma Dis Agustsdottir prior to the contest.
Ball State had a strong first quarter of play and were able to pull away from the Rockets leading by as many as seven (16-9) at the 2:24 mark after a 3-pointer from sophomore Ally Becki. But Toledo continued to chop at the heels the remainder of the opening stanza to come within two points (16-14) to end the quarter.
Toledo got hot in the second quarter, outscoring Ball State 28-19 to take a 42-35 edge at intermission. The Cardinals also found themselves in some foul trouble as both Clephane and Dis Agustsdottir had to sit the bench with three personal fouls apiece late in the second period.
After the break, the Rockets built off their strong second quarter eventually pushing their lead to 51-41 with 4:58 left in the third period. Toledo continued to control the up and down tempo of the contest for the remainder of the third frame.
In the fourth stanza, Ball State fought its way back until the very end, still trailing in the final minutes by as much as nine, Agustsdottir and Becki nailed a 3-pointer apiece to make it a five-point contest (66-57) with 54 seconds to play.
After that, as time was winding down, Clephane nailed one from behind the arc in the final seconds to make it a one possession ball game (72-70). After the Rockets were called for a travel, Ball State was able to get the ball out of bounds with four tenths of a second remaining. Unfortunately, they were unable to get a shot off as time expired.
For the game, Becki led the squad with 18 points while sophomore Madelyn Bischoff added 13 and senior Annie Rauch had 12.
The Ball State women's basketball team will now travel to Bowling Green Wednesday for a nationally televised contest on ESPNU in the Stroh Center at 5 pm ET.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals' (23-6, 13-3 Mid-American Conference) were unable to get its last-second shot off in time, suffering a 72-70 setback to Toledo inside Worthen Arena.
Statistically, both teams were similar in most categories. Ball State shot better from the field (44.6) than the Rockets (23-4, 13-3 MAC) and were strong from 3-point range (36.0). A lot of the game came down to free throws which Toledo currently leads the MAC from the charity stripe.
The Rockets were sent to the line 29 times and made 22 of their free throws which ultimately helped them snap the longest homecourt winning streak in Ball State women's basketball history at 14 games.
The entire 40 minutes was an emotional rollercoaster as both teams were on a mission to stay in the hunt to be crowned the MAC regular season champions and to earn the No. 1 seed in the upcoming 2023 MAC Tournament in Cleveland.
The Cardinals also celebrated seniors Anna Clephane and Thelma Dis Agustsdottir prior to the contest.
Ball State had a strong first quarter of play and were able to pull away from the Rockets leading by as many as seven (16-9) at the 2:24 mark after a 3-pointer from sophomore Ally Becki. But Toledo continued to chop at the heels the remainder of the opening stanza to come within two points (16-14) to end the quarter.
Toledo got hot in the second quarter, outscoring Ball State 28-19 to take a 42-35 edge at intermission. The Cardinals also found themselves in some foul trouble as both Clephane and Dis Agustsdottir had to sit the bench with three personal fouls apiece late in the second period.
After the break, the Rockets built off their strong second quarter eventually pushing their lead to 51-41 with 4:58 left in the third period. Toledo continued to control the up and down tempo of the contest for the remainder of the third frame.
In the fourth stanza, Ball State fought its way back until the very end, still trailing in the final minutes by as much as nine, Agustsdottir and Becki nailed a 3-pointer apiece to make it a five-point contest (66-57) with 54 seconds to play.
After that, as time was winding down, Clephane nailed one from behind the arc in the final seconds to make it a one possession ball game (72-70). After the Rockets were called for a travel, Ball State was able to get the ball out of bounds with four tenths of a second remaining. Unfortunately, they were unable to get a shot off as time expired.
For the game, Becki led the squad with 18 points while sophomore Madelyn Bischoff added 13 and senior Annie Rauch had 12.
The Ball State women's basketball team will now travel to Bowling Green Wednesday for a nationally televised contest on ESPNU in the Stroh Center at 5 pm ET.
Team Stats
UT
BSU
FG%
.400
.446
3FG%
.300
.360
FT%
.759
.647
RB
38
31
TO
15
15
STL
9
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Basketball
/ Women's Basketball
/ Women's Basketball
/ Women's Basketball
/ Women's Basketball
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