Late Rally Not Enough as Ball State Drops Tight Contest to RedHawks

Saturday, February 21

Oxford, OH

1 pm

Ball State University

22-6,13-2MAC

Miami University (OH)

22-5,13-1MAC

Ball St.

Miami (OH)

Late Rally Not Enough as Ball State Drops Tight Contest to RedHawks

February 21, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

OXFORD, Ohio - The Ball State women's basketball team (22-6, 13-2 MAC) dropped a heartbreaking 68-64 loss on the road to the Miami RedHawks (22-5, 13-1 MAC) Saturday afternoon in Millett Hall.

In today's highly anticipated Mid-American Conference rematch at Millett Hall, the first quarter was defined by an intense defensive struggle that saw the Ball State Cardinals holding a narrow 11-10 lead over Miami to end the first 10 minutes of play. Both teams prioritized gritty, physical play over offensive rhythm which carried into the second quarter of play.

With 6:10 remaining, Karsyn Norman buried a triple to extend the Ball State lead, to 22-17. The Cardinals capitalized on their interior size advantage, fueled by a quick six-point burst from Tessa Towers, but were unable to sustain the momentum. Despite several quality looks to widen the margin, missed opportunities following the media timeout allowed the Miami RedHawks to surge back; a decisive 10-2 run shifted the energy and handed Miami a 27-24 advantage heading into the locker room.

Towers opened the third quarter with a quick basket, fueling an 8-4 run that gave the Cardinals a 32-31 lead over Miami. While the RedHawks focused their defense on Towers, Grace Kingery and Aniss Tagayi stepped up to push the Ball State advantage to 42-38 by the media timeout. Although Miami's frequent fouls helped BSU maintain a slim lead for much of the frame, the RedHawks closed the quarter with five unanswered points to take a 54-50 lead into the final period.

Leveraging their home-court edge, the RedHawks surged to a 60-50 lead with 8:31 remaining. Unfazed, the Cardinals responded as Bree Salenbien and Towers ignited a 6-0 run, cutting the deficit to four with 4:35 left. Miami quickly countered with consecutive triples to push the margin back to nine. The Cardinals still played hard and Salenbien's 3-pointer cut it to four (68-64) as time was winding down but despite Ball State's resilient effort, the energized home crowd propelled the RedHawks to victory along with a seasonal series sweep.

For the game, Towers led the Cardinals with 22 points while Kingery scored 15 of her 18 points in the second half alone. Tagayi and Salenbien rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 apiece.

After a three-game road swing, the Ball State women's basketball team returns to Muncie next week for a two-game homestand at Worthen Arena. Ball State will first host Akron on Wednesday, February 25, at 6:30 p.m. for "Nonprofit Day". They conclude the week on Saturday, February 28, against Ohio at 1:00 p.m. in a special "Senior Day" matchup. The two games will be the last two regular season contests at home.