CLEVELAND — For the first time since 2015, the Ball State women's basketball team is entering the semi-final round of the Mid-American Conference tournament. Ball State defeated Northern Illinois 60–54 in the quarterfinal round.
Ball State fell 17 points after one of the worst performances in the first quarter of the season, but the Cardinals slowly snatched the Huskies' lead. Ball stat trailed by 13 points after the first quarter, 10 at halftime, four at the end of the third quarter and beat the Husky 20–10 in the fourth quarter to secure a six-point victory.
The win marked the first time Ball State reached the semifinal round of a conference tournament since 2015 and the first since 2014, where it won in the quarterfinal round (the top two regular season teams no longer received automatic byes in the semifinals since 2016). ).
Ball stat comes back from 17-point deficit
With 6:54 left in the first quarter, Ball State took a 9-8 lead.
Then, Northern Illinois went on a 21-3 run, starting in the first quarter and moving into the second. The Husky took a 17-point lead in the second quarter.
But Ball State never panicked.
Senior Thelma dis Augustsdottir hit a 3-pointer and junior Estelle Puigros hit two more as the Cardinals scored 9-0 to reduce their deficit to eight.
Northern Illinois extended their lead to 14 at the start of the third quarter but Ball State responded. The Cardinals' fullcourt press disappointed the Huskies - led by junior A'Jah Davis (17 points, 11 rebounds), sophomore Jaden Marable (14 points) and redshirt senior Jayne Poisson (13 points, five rebounds) - and Ball State freshman did. Mary Kiefer and Jr. Annie Rauch helped confine northern Illinois to the inside.
Eventually, bachelor Chyna Latimer hit a pair of free throws early in the fourth quarter to give Ball State a 45-44 lead, her first since the first quarter. The Cardinals won by six.
Northern Illinois dominates first quarter
It was the first quarter to forget the ball stat.
The Cardinals came out and hit three 3s in the first 3:06, taking a 9-8 lead over the Huskies. From there, Northern Illinois went 14–0 and the Cardinals scored only two points in the next 6:54.
Northern Illinois dominated the first quarter, not just a score of 24-11. The Huskies had advantages in rebounds (14-3), field goal percentage (52.9% to 30.8%) and 3-point percentage (66.7% to 33.3%). The Huskies also outscored the Cardinals in turnover (5-2), points in paint (6-2) and second chance points (6-0).
Ball State's 13-point loss was the biggest loss in the second quarter of the game this season. It was 3-9 in games where he scored less than 70 points. Nevertheless, the Cardinals emerged victorious.
Ball State reached the semi-finals of the MAC tournament for the first time since 2015
The last time Ball State played in the semi-final round of the MAC tournament was in 2015, which it automatically made as it was the No. 2 seed.
Ball State has not won a quarterfinal game in the MAC Tournament since 2014, when it won three straight games before falling in the championship game.
After one, two, and four-point losses in the Mack Tournament, Ball State overcame the hump and extended their stay in Cleveland. The Cardinals were led by freshman Eli Becky (15 points, five rebounds, four steals), Puigros (12 points), Dis Augustsdottir (10 points), Freeman (10 points) and Latimer (nine points). Rauch had six rebounds (three offensive) while Kiefer added five.
With the win, Ball State moves on to play No. 1 Toledo on Friday at 10 a.m. Ball State lost by three points each in both of their meetings against Toledo this season.
Ball State 60, Northern Illinois 54
Ball State (19-11, 11-8 Mack) - Becky 4-7 4-4 15, Dis Agustsdottir 3-13 1-2 10, Freeman 4-10 0-0 10, Keefer 1-1 0-0 2, Latimer 3-6 3-49, Subirts 0-2 0-0 0, Rauch 0-7 2-2 2. Totals 20-57 10-31 60.
Northern Illinois (14-15, 11-9 Mack) - Brandon 1-3 0-0 2, Poisson 5-16 0-0 13, Davis 6-7 5-6 17, Marble 6-14 1-1 14, Ahart 2-8 0-0 6, Hodges 0-0 0-0 0, McCurry 1-3 0-0 2, Castro 0-0 0-0 0, Meinert 0-0 0-0 0. Total 21-51 6- 7 54.
Other MAC Tournament First Round Results
No. 1 Toledo 80, No. 8 Ohio 67
OHIO (15-14, 9-10 MAC) - Johnson 8-22 5-6 25, Burris 5-13 0-0 13, Hooks 9-25 4-10 22, Mece 2-3 1-2 5, Bambule 0 -2 0-0 0, Felder 0-2 0-0 0, Guice 1-1 0-0 2, Dennis 0-0 0-0 0. Sum 25-68 10-18 67.
Toledo (26-4, 19-1 Mack) - Cook 4-7 0-0 8, Wired 7-12 4-6 19, Lockett 6-13 7-9 19, Goss 4-7 0-0 10, Mikonowicz 3 -9 3-4 11, Garcia 2-4 0-0 4, Jensen 3-6 1-29, Curry 0-2 0-0 0. Total 29-60 15-21 80.
No. 2 Buffalo 63, No. 7 Western Michigan 49
Western Michigan (16-14, Mac 10-10) - Williams 4-12 5-6 13, Jacobson 3-10 1-3 7, Wagner 2-6 0-0 5, Spitzley 2-3 0-0 4, Ross 0-92-2 2, Shaffer 3-8 0-0 8, Waters 1-5 0-0 3, Douglas 0-1 3-4 3, Saxman 1-4 0-0 2, Audino 1-1 0- 0 2, Voss 0-0 0-0 0, Brooks 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-60 11-15 49.
Buffalo (23-8, 16-4 Mack) - Fair 9-17 0-0 19, Camp 4-11 1-2 10, Christie's 4-8 0-09, Woolly 3-10, 0-0 6, Hemphill 2-7 1-2 5, Young 5-8 0-1 10, Wilson 1-2 0-0 2, Gabba 1-2 0-0 2, Adeye 0-2 0-0 0, Jordan 0-0 0- 0 0, Valenti-Peya 0-0 0-0 0. Total 29-68 2-5 63.
No. 3 Akron 81, No. 6 Bowling Green 67
Bowling Green (15-15, 10-10 Mack) - Hempfling 5-7 2-2 15, Velasco 7-15 2-4 19, Brett 5-15 3-4 15, Hampton 2-8 1-1 5, Lewis 1-3 2-2 4, Parker 1-3 2-2 4, Tet 0-2 0-0 0, Tet 0-2 0-0 0, Sharps 1-1 0-0 2, Daisycon 1-1 0- 0 2, Hill 0-0 1-2 1. Sum 23-55 13-17 67.
Akron (17-10, 13-7 Mack) - Brewer 4-11 3-4 11, Dawson 9-22 2-2 22, Bass 6-7 4-7 16, Corcoran 0-1 0-0 0, Ferrell 4 -5 4-5 14, Miller 4-5 1-19, Martindale 2-5 4-6 9. Totals 29-56 18-25 81.