Women’s Basketball Advances to MAC Tourney Semifinals Friday with Win Over Ohio

Wednesday, March 13

Cleveland, Ohio

4 or 4:30 pm ET

Ball State University

28-4,16-2MAC

Ohio University

11-19,8-10MAC

Ohio

Ball St.

Women’s Basketball Advances to MAC Tourney Semifinals Friday with Win Over Ohio

March 13, 2024 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

This marks the third-straight season the Cardinals have advanced to the Mid-American Conference Tournament Semifinals

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The No. 2 seed Ball State women's basketball team (28-4) defeated No. 7 Ohio (11-9) by a score of 77-53 Wednesday evening at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to advance to the 2024 Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals for the third straight season.

It was an all-around team effort today for the Cardinals which was led by this week's MAC Player of the Week, Alex Richard who tallied a 22-point performance which included a perfect 9-of-9 shooting from the field. First Team All-MAC recipient and All-MAC Defensive Team honoree Ally Becki registered 21 points while All-MAC Third Team honoree Madelyn Bischoff rounded out the double figure scoring with 15.

It comes to no surprise that the opening 10 minutes of play, especially at the tournament, would be neck-and-neck between the Cardinals and the Bobcats. The score was knotted 9-9 after 4:37 of play had occurred. Both teams were jittery, struggling from inside the paint and throwing up 3's as some went in and some didn't. Fortunately, Becki and Estel Puiggros both nailed 3-pointers in the final three minutes. That, along with a steal from the MAC Defensive Player of the Year, Nyla Hampton helped Ball State build an eight-point advantage (22-14) to end the first quarter.

The Cardinals were in sync offensively in the second frame as Becki found Richard under the basket at the 5:35 mark to make it a 34-16 ball game. Between Becki and Richard, the two combined for 24 of the Cardinals' 43 first half points, helping Ball State take a 43-25 advantage over Ohio at intermission.

Ohio opened the third period with a 10-4 run to cut Ball State's lead to 12, 47-35, with just over five minutes shaved off the clock. The Cardinals answered quickly by attacking the basket and pulling down some crucial rebounds which allowed Ball State to carry a double-digit lead (56-42), to close out the third stanza.

Despite the Bobcats' efforts the remainder of the second half, the Cardinals kept their composure and stayed in control of their destiny ending the contest with a victory.

As a team, the Cardinals outrebounded the Bobcats, 46-22, which was led by Marie Kiefer with 11.

The second-seeded Ball State women's basketball team continues its journey for a Mid-American Conference Tournament title when it faces either third-seeded Kent State or sixth-seeded Northern Illinois Friday at approximately 12:30 pm ET in the second semifinal women's game.