Forget the fact that Bowling Green went into Ball State as major underdogs. Forget the fact that the Falcons were without All-MAC selection Francine Miller, out for the season due to injury.
BG went into Saturday’s matchup with its two-game conference winning streak as poised MAC contenders, ready to take down the stronger Cardinals. And for the first half of the contest, it looked like the Falcons may do just that. But a second half surge by Ball State quieted the hopeful giant-killers, leading the Cardinals to a 89-60 victory.
“I was ecstatic with how hard we played, especially in the first half,” said BG coach Curt Miller. “We really competed with them. . . I think they’re the team to beat in the MAC.”
The Falcons were led by junior Kim Griech’s team high 13 points. Sophomore’s Kelly Kapferer and Pam Brown were also in the double-digit category with 11 and 10 points respectively. BSU’s reigning MAC Player of the Year Tamara Bowie scored a game-high 19 points for the Cardinals.
The Falcons (5-12 overall, 2-4 MAC) stayed close to the Cardinals (12-4, 4-1) in the first 20 minutes, going into halftime trailing 35-32. After trailing 17-11, BG went on an 11-0 run to take a 22-17 lead at the 8:30 mark in the first half.
Ball State answered with its own 7-0 and a 24-22 lead. The game would be deadlocked at 27-27 after BG guard Lindsay Austin hit two free throws. Austin ended the game with a career high in points and assist with nine, while also setting a new mark with seven rebounds.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with the position we put ourselves in at halftime,” Curt Miller said. “We had outrebounded them and played an outstanding half of basketball on the road. With the exception of some foul shooting in the first half, we indeed could have had the lead in the first half.”
The second half was a different story, as the Cardinals quickly jumped out to a 13-point lead. BSU shot 56 percent from the floor in the second half, watching their lead gradually extend to 29 points by the end of the game. BG couldn’t find a hot hand in the final half, shooting 26 percent.
“To our credit, our kids never quit and battled and played hard the rest of the way,” Curt Miller said. “To their credit, when their kids play hard, they’re very tough to handle and pose a lot of matchup problems. They can hurt you in so many different ways. You pick your poison.”
