BGSU women’s basketball (17-13, 9-9) fell to the Ball State Cardinals (25-6, 16-2) in the quarterfinal round of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, losing 75-63.
“It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t come out as victors, but I thought our team played really, really hard, as they always do,” said head coach Fred Chmiel. “I think Ball State is a really, really great team in our conference. I mean, just the way they play in their size, and they’re well coached, just a really, really tough team to play against.”
The Falcons trailed the Cardinals 19-15 at the end of the first quarter despite giving up three triples to Ball State, while the Orange and Brown finished the first period by only attempting one triple and missing the mark.
Despite being down four at the conclusion of the first period, the Cardinals began to collapse Bowling Green defensively, while turning their defense into offense.
Ball State extended its lead to 42-28 entering halftime on 52% shooting in the quarter, in addition to 50% from downtown.
Meanwhile, BG 27% from the field, which ended up being their worst shooting quarter of the day, finishing the game at 37% from the field.
Ball State’s defense kept sophomore guard Johnea Donahue in check in the first half, only scored two points entering halftime. She capped off the day, scoring seven points off 2-16 shooting and 3-4 from the free-throw line.
In the wake of a 14-point deficit and facing elimination, BG outscored the Cardinals 15-11 in the third quarter, holding Ball State to their lowest shooting clip of the matchup at 30% success rate, yet still allowing the Cardinals to connect on 50% of their three-point shots.
Regardless of trailing Ball State moving into the fourth quarter, BGSU managed to cut the deficit to 10 points, down 53-43, as junior guard Paige Kohler began to heat up, heading into the fourth quarter. She ended up finishing with 16 points on 7-17 shooting.
The Falcons did manage to cut Ball State’s lead to four points in the fourth quarter, but senior guard Bree Salenbine and sophomore guard Grace Kingery caught fire from distance towards the late stages of the game, sealing the Cardinals’ victory, winning 75-63.
Kingery concluded the day with 25 points, five rebounds and two assists against the Falcons, while Salenbine recorded a double-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Sophomore forward Lauren Gerken spoke over the Orange and Brown’s offensive struggles, saying, “I don’t really think there was an issue. I think we just weren’t taking some shots that we should have. We always have a really small window, and I don’t think we were really taking advantage of those windows.”
Falcon Media Sports Network will have all offseason coverage for BGSU women’s basketball.
