The number one seed Ball State Cardinals (25-7, 16-2) took down the reigning Mid-American Conference (MAC) champion’s Kent State (21-11, 12-6) 70-53 in the semifinals. With the win, the Cardinals advance to the MAC championship game on Saturday morning.
Heading into the second quarter, Ball State was in the middle of a 10-0 run, extending their lead to 22-8 as the second quarter began. A three-point shot from Lachelle Austin put the Cardinals up by 15 points, leading Kent State 25-10 early in the second quarter.
A last-second floater by Jenna Batsch got things within single digits as both teams headed into halftime, Ball State leading 34-26 in the semifinal matchup.
Ball State shot 50% from the field (13/26) in the first half while shooting 60% from three (6/10). Austin led the Cardinals in scoring with 10 points heading into the second half.
Kent State struggled from three-point range in the first half, shooting just 2/7 from beyond the arc, both threes were made by Batsch who led Kent State in scoring with 10 points while shooting 2/3 from three.
Back-to-back threes by MAC Player of the Year Ally Becki and Austin sent the Cardinals into the fourth quarter up 58-40 against the reigning MAC champions.
The Cardinals took control the whole fourth quarter, advancing to the MAC championship game, defeating Kent State by a final score of 70-53.
Ball State shot 27/56 from the field and scored 22 points off 18 Kent State turnovers. Ball State dominated on defense, the Golden flashes only shooting 39.6% from the field and 23.5% from three, Ball State also finished with 12 steals and three blocks.
“The energy on the defensive end I thought was really the story of the game,” said Ball State head coach Brady Sallee. “Everything we did today had a real purpose behind it, you could see that there were no guessing games out there today.”
Austin finished her morning with a team-high 22 points for the Cardinals, while Becki finished her day with 15 points of her own. Four out of the five members of Ball State’s starting lineup scored double-digit figures vs Kent State.
Ball State will face the second-seeded Toledo Rockets in the MAC championship game this Saturday at 11 a.m. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Lucas Kleimeyer and Kaden Knapp will have the call on Falcon Radio.
