
Photo by: Ball State Athletics
WBB Wins Battle of Undefeated Mid-Majors with Road Victory at Northern Iowa
November 16, 2024 | Women's Basketball
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - It comes to no surprise that today's contest would come down to the wire. Ball State (4-0) and Northern Iowa (2-1) are two top tier mid-major programs with both squads looking to remain undefeated this season. Fortunately, the Cardinals were able to come up with the 76-70 win over the Panthers Saturday afternoon at the McLeod Center.
"I think we do have a lot of confidence," Ball State head coach Brady Sallee said. "Coming into a place like this and winning was a great test for us. It seems like the way our schedule is set up its good game and then a tougher game and then here we go again with North Carolina on the horizon. We got a lot of confidence. I think we are defending at a relatively good place and if we can keep defending rather, we are on the road or not that travels."
Seniors Lachelle Austin, Marie Kiefer and Madelyn Bischoff came in clutch as the three players went a combined 8-of-8 from the charity stripe which ultimately sealed the Cardinals victory today. Ball State starts the season off 4-0 for the second-straight season.
Both squads got off to a slow offensive start in the opening minutes of today's ball game which led to a 9-9 tie at the end of the first quarter of play.
The Cardinals finally began to regain an offensive spark by putting together a 15-5 scoring spree which was capped off by a 3-pointer from Austin. The run gave BSU a 10-point (24-14) edge over the Panthers at the 5:55 mark of the second frame.
UNI went on a run of its own and would come to within four points with just under five minutes remaining, but Austin kept the Cardinals in control with back-to-back 3-pointers along with few jumpers from Bischoff. Ball State was able to take a 34-25 advantage over the Panthers at intermission.
After the break, Ball State remained in control, but Northern Iowa wasn't going to give up cutting the Cardinals once 16-point lead to five (50-45) with 2:14 left in the third period. The Cardinals weren't fazed by the Panthers though, a few defensive rebounds and some aggressive offensive plays under the basketball allowed BSU to take a 55-45 lead over UNI into the final 10 minutes of action.
Ball State led for over 37 minutes of today's ball game despite the game being tied on a few occasions, the Cardinals controlled their destiny from start to finish.
For the game, Austin and Alex Richard were the high scorers with 18 points apiece. Richard also pulled down a season best nine boards. Becki turned in an 11-point, nine rebound, two steals and two block performance while Elise Stuck rounded out the double figure scoring with 10 points.
As a team what stood out the most on the stat sheet were points off turnovers for Ball State (21-12) and second chance points (13-9). The Cardinals also out rebounded the Panthers (41-36).
The Ball State women's basketball team is set to compete in three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas starting Saturday, Nov. 23 against No. 14/15 North Carolina at 6:30 pm ET.
"I think we do have a lot of confidence," Ball State head coach Brady Sallee said. "Coming into a place like this and winning was a great test for us. It seems like the way our schedule is set up its good game and then a tougher game and then here we go again with North Carolina on the horizon. We got a lot of confidence. I think we are defending at a relatively good place and if we can keep defending rather, we are on the road or not that travels."
Seniors Lachelle Austin, Marie Kiefer and Madelyn Bischoff came in clutch as the three players went a combined 8-of-8 from the charity stripe which ultimately sealed the Cardinals victory today. Ball State starts the season off 4-0 for the second-straight season.
Both squads got off to a slow offensive start in the opening minutes of today's ball game which led to a 9-9 tie at the end of the first quarter of play.
The Cardinals finally began to regain an offensive spark by putting together a 15-5 scoring spree which was capped off by a 3-pointer from Austin. The run gave BSU a 10-point (24-14) edge over the Panthers at the 5:55 mark of the second frame.
UNI went on a run of its own and would come to within four points with just under five minutes remaining, but Austin kept the Cardinals in control with back-to-back 3-pointers along with few jumpers from Bischoff. Ball State was able to take a 34-25 advantage over the Panthers at intermission.
After the break, Ball State remained in control, but Northern Iowa wasn't going to give up cutting the Cardinals once 16-point lead to five (50-45) with 2:14 left in the third period. The Cardinals weren't fazed by the Panthers though, a few defensive rebounds and some aggressive offensive plays under the basketball allowed BSU to take a 55-45 lead over UNI into the final 10 minutes of action.
Ball State led for over 37 minutes of today's ball game despite the game being tied on a few occasions, the Cardinals controlled their destiny from start to finish.
For the game, Austin and Alex Richard were the high scorers with 18 points apiece. Richard also pulled down a season best nine boards. Becki turned in an 11-point, nine rebound, two steals and two block performance while Elise Stuck rounded out the double figure scoring with 10 points.
As a team what stood out the most on the stat sheet were points off turnovers for Ball State (21-12) and second chance points (13-9). The Cardinals also out rebounded the Panthers (41-36).
The Ball State women's basketball team is set to compete in three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas starting Saturday, Nov. 23 against No. 14/15 North Carolina at 6:30 pm ET.
Team Stats
BSU
UNI
FG%
.373
.397
3FG%
.222
.346
FT%
.897
.647
RB
41
36
TO
16
16
STL
10
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Players Mentioned
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