The Ball State Cardinals traveled to Bowling Green to play the Falcons Saturday afternoon in the first game of a women’s and men’s double header. The Falcons dropped their fourth straight game after being defeated by the Cardinals 75-53. The University is still searching for their first home Mid-American Conference win this season.
Sophomore guard Sydney Lambert led the Falcons with 15 points, 12 of which came from beyond the arc, and had 2 blocks. Other Falcon standouts were senior forward Ashley Tunstall who contributed 8 rebounds with 4 assists and Andrea Cecil, who came off the bench with 8 points and efficient 3-4 shooting.
“We knew what they were going to do, and unfortunately we weren’t able to get as many stops as we wanted to,” said Falcons head coach Jennifer Roos. “We’re struggling to put the ball in the basket. We had some good looks throughout the entire night, but when you shoot in the low thirties it’s not going to be enough to counterpunch some of the things they do.”
The Falcons did have a hard time scoring the ball, shooting 17 of 65 from the field with 11 of 32 shooting from three. The scoring troubles continued in the fourth after going scoreless for the first four minutes and twenty-two seconds of the quarter.
Bowling Green started the first quarter with strong defense, only allowing 12 points on 5 of 15 shooting, but could not seem to stop the Cardinals after getting outscored in the final 3 quarters 63-37. After holding Cardinals, forward Moriah Monaco scored three points in the first and scored 12 points the rest of the game with 5-9 shooting from three.
Points in the paint also haunted the Falcons, being outperformed 38-10. Twenty-two of those inside points came from the 6 foot 5 Cardinals center Renee Bennett. Bennett also led the game in rebounds with 12. Turnovers also seemed to be an issue for the Falcons, losing the battle 17-10, with allowing 23 points off turnovers, compared to only scoring 6 of theirs.
Despite losing, the Falcons successfully outrebounded the Cardinals 43-41 with 17 offensive rebounds, which allowed for 16 second chance points. Ten different Falcons managed to get at least one rebound in the defeat. Rebounding has been something the Falcons have prided themselves in, outrebounding teams 7 of their last 9 games.
“We’re more motivated than ever, we know we have the potential and we’re continuing to get better,” said junior guard Haley Puk, who contributed 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists, “We’re a little frustrated, but that’s going to motivate us even more. We’re ready to show the fans and show the MAC what we got.” Puk and the Falcons hope to snap their losing streak when they travel to Eastern Michigan to play the Eagles Wednesday at 7.
