Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
20-4,10-1MAC
Eastern Michigan University
12-10,4-7MAC
Women’s Basketball Dominates Play at Eastern Michigan for 20th Win of the Season
February 08, 2023 | Women's Basketball
YPSILANTI, Mich. - For the sixth time in head coach Brady Sallee's 11 years with the Cardinals, he has led Ball State to another 20-win season.
The Cardinals dominated play against the Eagles tonight and were able to take home the 68-50 road victory in midweek Mid-American Conference action. Ball State improved to 20-4 on the season and 10-1 in conference play, which is the best league start for BSU since the 2001-02 season. With the loss, EMU fell to 12-10 and 4-7 in the MAC.
Much of tonight's success came from the Cardinals' resiliency which has been one of their strong suits all season long. BSU caused EMU to commit 23 turnovers, which the Cardinals turned into 16 points off those miscues. Ball State also dominated in the paint scoring 30 points.
The Cardinals outpaced the Eagles 14-5 in the first quarter of play by syncing on all aspects of the court which caused problems for Eastern Michigan. Ball State's defense was also near perfect holding Eastern Michigan to only a field goal up until the last minute of the opening 10 minutes of action.
Ball State carried that same momentum into the second period, quickly building a 16-7 advantage over EMU at the 7:23 mark. But Eastern Michigan wasn't going to go away easily as the Eagles came back with a vengeance putting together a 10-2 run to make it a one-point ball game (18-17) with 3:02 remaining in the first half.
Sophomore Madelyn Bischoff changed the momentum back in favor of the Cardinals with a fast break layup. Redshirt senior Anna Clephane continued the scoring trend with a layup and then graduate senior Thelma Dis Agustsdottir added a 3-pointer with 1:48 on the clock to help give Ball State the nine-point (28-19) edge over Eastern Michigan at intermission.
After the break, the Cardinals would push their cushion to 17-points (47-30) which was capped off by a layup and two free throws from Clephane. Agustsdottir also had a strong third quarter, scoring 10 points while going 4-of-6 from the field.
Eastern Michigan never recovered from Ball Sate's hot shooting hand throughout the contest. The Cardinals also held the Eagles to 32 percent (17-52) from the floor.
The dynamic duo of Agustsdottir and Clephane led Ball State in scoring with 25 and 23 points, respectively. Agustsdottir also pulled down seven rebounds and tied her personal record behind the arc with seven 3-pointers. Clephane led BSU defensively, with a career best 10 rebounds.
The Ball State women's basketball team continues Mid-American Conference action on the road when it travels to Akron Saturday in James A. Rhodes Arena at 2 pm ET for its second match-up with the Zips. The Cardinals won the first meeting against Akron 89-66 in Worthen Arena, Jan. 25.
