Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Ball State
Women's Basketball Outlasts Ball State
1/18/2006 9:21:08 PM | Women's Basketball
Senior Ryan Coleman three-pointer with 41.8 seconds remaining sealed the victory
Box score.
MUNCIE, Ind.-- In a battle of Mid-American Conference West Division elite, the Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team claimed a 66-58 victory over a Ball State squad here Wednesday night at the John E. Worthen Arena. The two teams battled back and fourth until a Ryan Coleman three-pointer with 41.8 seconds remaining sealed the Eagles sixth consecutive victory.
Junior forward Sarah VanMetre led four Eagles in double figures with 19 points, including connecting on 8-of-13 from the field. Senior Ryan Coleman added 15 points while senior Nikki Knapp added 14. Sophomore Patrice McKinney turned in a double-double with 13 points and 17 rebounds. The win boosted EMU to 10-5 on the year and 4-0 in league play.
Ball State, now 9-6 (2-1 MAC) on the year, was paced by Julie DeMuth with 15 points and five boards.
The two squads opened the game cracking down on the defensive side of the ball as the teams were held scoreless for nearly three minutes until EMU’s Sarah VanMetre drained the contest’s first points on a three-pointer with 17:17 to go. The Eagles raced out to a quick 7-2 lead, but the Cardinals clawed back to take the lead with 12:11 as Kiley Jarrett used a fastbreak layup to cap a quick 7-1 run by Ball State.
Eastern retook the advantage on a Melis Ulker layup with 10:23 remaining but BSU quickly knotted the score at 11. Four consecutive points by Knapp pushed the EMU edge to four, 15-11, but each time Ball State responded with an answer of its own. The Green and White were unable to take more than a possession lead as the Eagles went into the locker room up 22-19.
In a half which featured four lead changes and three ties, saw Eastern Michigan’s Patrice McKinney lead all scorers with seven points and 12 rebounds. VanMetre chipped six points and Kendra Gallert turned in four assists. Cold shooting plagued both teams, including the Eagles’ top-scorer Ryan Coleman who was held scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting in 19 minutes of action. Tina Bolte paced the Red and White with five points.
Following the intermission, Coleman connected on her first shot of the game as EMU rolled off seven quick points to go expand the margin to five, 30-25. Ball State stood strong though cashing in on a 6-0 run capped off by a Julie DeMuth layup to pull infront by a 31-30 tally. VanMetre keep the Eagles afloat scoring 11 consecutive points for the visitors to make it 38-35 with 12:59 left in the contest.
Neither team would give up as Ball State remained with in a possession and could have regained control, but Jarrett was charged with an offensive foul at the 9:24 mark to wave off the easy layup. The teams traded scores each trip down the floor with EMU unable to garner more than a three-point edge. The Eagles held tough never relinquishing control even though BSU had a couple chances to take the lead down the stretch.
Eastern held Ball State without a field goal over the contest’s final 2:19 and sealed the win as Coleman connected on her only three-pointer with the shot clock-winding down gave EMU a four point edge, 63-58. Free throws in the closing seconds boosted the final score to 66-58.
The Eagles are next in action Saturday, Jan. 21, when they battle the Central Michigan University Chippewas. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Rose Arena in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
