Ball State women’s basketball (27-4, 16-2 MAC) dominated Ohio (11-18, 8-10 MAC) in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament on Wednesday afternoon, 77-53.
The Cardinals will return to the semifinal round for the second year in a row, battling Kent State on Friday.
Ohio started the scoring, draining a three-pointer on their first possession of the game.
However, both teams exchanged shots back-and-forth over the next few minutes and were tied at nine points at the first quarter media timeout.
The teams traded three-pointers out of the media timeout, keeping the game tied at 12 apiece.
Ball State dominated the remainder of the quarter, going on a 22-12 run.
However, the Bobcats made the final shot of the quarter, cutting BSU’s lead to 22-14.
The Cardinals carried over their momentum from the previous 10 minutes, going on an 8-0 run to start the second quarter, extending their lead to 16 points, 30-14.
While Ohio ended its scoreless drought with just under six and a half minutes remaining in the quarter, Ball State responded with a 6-0 run, extending its lead by 20 points with just over five minutes remaining in the quarter, 36-16.
Although Ohio kept fighting, Ball State headed to the locker room with an 18-point lead at halftime, 43-25.
The start of the second half saw a lot of back-and-forth action.
However, Ohio put together a 7-0 run, cutting BSU’s lead to 12 points with five-and-a-half minutes remaining in the quarter.
After BSU went on another little run, the Bobcats closed the half on a 7-3 run.
However, Ball State maintained a 14-point lead after 30 minutes of action, 56-42.
Although Ohio started the fourth quarter with momentum, the Cardinals went on another 5-0 run, extending their lead to 65-49 with just over six minutes remaining.
Ball State maintained control for the remainder of the contest, winning 12 points.
BSU shot 47.4% (27-57) from the field, 32.3% (10-31) on three-pointers and 72.2% (13-18) on free throws, while Ohio shot 32.8% (19-58) from the field, 31.6% (6-19) from beyond the arc and 90% (9-10) from the charity stripe.
While Ohio’s bench outscored BSU’s 28-7, the Cardinals dominated the boards, outrebounding the Bobcats 46-22.
Juniors Alex Richard, Ally Becki and Marie Kiefer led the way for BSU.
Richard led all scorers with 22 points on a perfect 9-9 shooting from the field, while Becki added 21 points and drained a game-high five three-pointers. Meanwhile, Kiefer finished just short of a double-double, tallying eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
On the other side, freshman guard Layla Fantroy led OU in scoring with 18 points on 6-8 shooting from the field.
Next, Ball State will face Kent State in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Cardinals and Golden Flashes will tip off 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game of the day, Toledo against Buffalo, which will start at 10 a.m.
