Eagles Fall To MAC West-Leading Ball State, 68-59

Box score.

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team saw its three-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of Mid-American Conference West Division leader Ball State University, falling in a tightly contested game, 68-59, Tuesday, Feb. 24, at the Convocation Center.

The Cardinals took the lead for good at the 3:51 mark of the first half and never looked back. EMU kept it close the entire contest, but could get no closer than three in the second frame.

With the loss, EMU falls to 7-18 (3-10 MAC) while Ball State improves to 19-8 (11-2 MAC) on the season. Freshman Tavelyn James (Detroit, Mich.-Mumford) led the way with 21 points while De'Ja Wills (Anderson, Ind.-Anderson) hit double-figures with 12 points. Freshman Kim Davis (Evanston, Ill.-Evanston Twp.) notched career-highs in both points and rebounds with five points and 11 boards. The Cardinals put three players in double-digits, led by Porchia Green's 18.

The Eagles out-rebounded the Cardinals 42-25 but shot just 36.1 percent (22-for-61) from the field, compared to 42.3 percent (22-for-52) for Ball State.

After going down by as many as 10 points, the Eagles regained their touch from the outside with a quick five points to get back within five at the 2:25 mark. After a BSU lay-up, Wills answered with a trey to cut the lead to four, 62-58, with 1:31 remaining. A pair of BSU charity tosses pushed the advantage back to six with 1:20 remaining. A turnover on the next EMU possession allowed the Cardinals to put the game away at the line.

EMU got within three off a James lay-up with 8:40 remaining but the Cardinals pushed the lead right back to six off a three-point play with just under eight minutes to go.

Coming out of the break, the Cardinals went on a quick 8-3 spurt, pushing the lead to 10 off a Kiley Jarrett triple, forcing AnnMarie Glibert to call a timeout, just under four minutes in. The Eagles regrouped out of the timeout, using a James triple and Schrock lay-in to cut the lead to 43-38 and force a Cardinal timeout with 13:58 remaining.

The first half was back and forth, with neither team taking a lead larger than three until BSU's Green hit a runner in the lane with less than two seconds remaining to send the Cardinals to the break with a 35-30 advantage. James led the way for the Eagles in the first half with 10 points, with Wills chipping in eight. Ball State was hot from behind the arc in the first half, hitting 5-of-11 three-pointers. The Eagles dominated the boards in the first half, grabbing 23, compared to just 15 for the Cardinals.

Next up for EMU is a trip to Toledo, Ohio for another MAC West match-up with the Toledo Rockets. The two teams are slated to square off Saturday, Feb. 28, at 4:30 p.m.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Related News

Next Event

Related Videos