Women's Basketball Opens 2014-15 Season In High-Scoring Style
Eastern Michigan 127, Kent State - Tuscarawas 40
Akron 80, Binghamton 49
Ohio 111, Murray State 60
Northern Illinois 55, Illinois State 51
Western Michigan 63, UMASS 41
North Dakota State 74, Kent State 68
Siena 58, Buffalo 50
Bucknell 53, Bowling Green 52
Cleveland State 81, Toledo 71
Purdue 66, Ball State 60
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Eastern Michigan 127, Kent State - Tuscarawas 40
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team kicked off its 2014-15 campaign with a record-breaking 127-40 victory over Kent State University-Tuscarawas on Education Day at the Convocation Center Friday, Nov. 14.
The Eagles had a record-breaking afternoon, setting four team Convocation Center records and three EMU single-game records. Freshman Sasha Dailey (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) tied the Convocation Center steals record and finished tied for second in a single-game with nine swipes in her first collegiate contest. As a team, EMU broke the Convo points record (127) and margin of victory record (87), field goals made (57), while tying the field goals attempted record (99). Eastern's 57 made field goals also broke the single-game record, while its 99 attempted field goals tied the all-time record.
Dailey led the Eagles in her first collegiate contest, scoring 31 points, grabbing nine steals, and dishing out six assists The Toledo, Ohio native also grabbed nine rebounds for the Green and White. Senior Jamaica Bucknor (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Weaver-ASA College) added 18 points to the EMU scoring effort, while KaBria Walker (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) had 12 points. Two other Eagles scored in double-digits as Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) and Britani Stowe (Washington, D.C.-Saint John's College Prep) notched 10 points apiece. Freshman Tori Easley (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) led the Eagles on the glass, grabbing 10 rebounds, four players pulled down five apiece for the Green and White.
Despite the early start the building was full of energy, as EMU welcomed more than 2,500 students for the annual Education Day contest. The goal was to get area children excited about college at an early age and give children an engaging, positive atmosphere to reinforce the learning going on at their school.
KSU Tuscarawas, playing with just five players, was lead by Tessa Sanders with 12 points. All but three of KSUT's field goals came from beyond the three-point line.
Eastern Michigan shot an impressive 57.6 percent from the floor, going 57-for-99 behind a 59.6 percent shooting effort in the second half. As a team, the Eagles had 23 steals and 23 assists, while turning the ball over just nine times. The Green and White forced KSUT to turn the ball over 32 times as the Eagles scored 55 points off of turnovers and 54 fastbreak points.
The Eagles went on a quick 7-0 run to start the contest over the Golden Eagles, but three three-pointers from KSUT cut the Green and White lead to three points and forced Head Coach Tori Verdi to call a timeout with 16:43 remaining in the first half. Coming out of the timeout, Eastern knocked down back-to-back baskets on a Bucknor putback and a Sweeney layup off a Dailey steal to take the 16-9 advantage.
Eastern Michigan pressured the Golden Eagles in the backcourt, grabbing two-straight steals on two separate occasions, while forcing a 10-second violation one time. The Green and White closed out the first half of action going on a 42-9 run to take a 66-23 advantage into the locker room.
EMU had three players reach double-digit scoring in the first half as Dailey led the way with 16 points as Bucknor and Sweeney each had 14 and 10 points, respectively. Kabria Walker (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) and Easley pulled down five rebounds apiece, while Bucknor grabbed four boards for the Green and White.
As a team, the Eagles swiped 13 balls from Kent State Tuscarawas and scored 28 fastbreak points, while Dailey led EMU with five steals. The Green and White shot an impressive 55.8 percent, going 29-for-52 from the floor and 85.7 percent from the free throw line, draining six-of-seven attempts.
The Golden Eagles scored 15 of their 23 points on three-point shots with Tessa Sanders draining three from beyond the arc and added one blocked shot. Sharde Collier notched seven points in the first half with one three pointer and two free throws. As a team, KSUT shot 25.0 perfect from beyond the three-point line and grabbed nine defensive rebounds.
Eastern continued its aggressive defense to open up the second half, grabbing six steals in the backcourt and scoring 11 points off of turnovers to take a 92-35 lead over the Golden Eagles with 11:52 to play in the contest.
The Eagles broke the 100-point mark for just the ninth time in Convocation Center history when Sera Ozelci (Ankara, Turkey-TED Ankara College-Odessa College) drained a trey from beyond the arc to extend the EMU lead to 101-35 over KSUT.
Following two Golden Eagle free throws with just over seven minutes to play, Verdi put in an all-freshmen lineup that outscored KSTU 26-0 to close out the contest with an EMU record-breaking 127-40 victory. The previous single-game record was set Nov. 30, 2013 when the Green and White dropped 120 points on Marygrove.
The Eagles will be back in action Sunday, Nov. 16 when they head to East Lansing, Mich. to take on the Spartans of Michigan State University. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. at the Breslin Center. WEMU (891. FM) will air the contest locally, while the game will be shown online as a part of BTN Plus.
Akron 80, Binghamton 49
AKRON, Ohio -- Anita Brown poured in a career-high 29 points to go with 11 rebounds, eight of which came on the offensive glass, to propel Akron past Binghamton, 80-49, in the season opener for both teams Friday evening.
The game was the second of the day in the first ever Akron Classic held at James A. Rhodes Arena. The result was the third-consecutive season-opening victory for UA (1-0).
Brown, who made her first collegiate start, connected on 14-of-22 attempts from the field in her 33 minutes of action without committing a turnover. She was one of two Zips to turn in a double-double on the night, joined by senior Sina King (19 points, 11 rebounds).
Freshman point guard Kerri McMahan posted nine points and four assists in her collegiate debut, while Hannah Plybon had eight, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Akron pounded the ball inside, outscoring Binghamton 52-12 in the paint. The Zips also out-rebounded the Bearcats, 52-32, which helped them earn 22 second-chance points.
BU (0-1) was led by freshman Imani Watkins with 19 points.
The game was close for a majority of the first half, as the Zips methodically chipped away at an early Binghamton lead. The Bearcats held their largest advantage of the game at the 14:04 mark of the opening period after Watkins drained one of her four triples, giving BU the 17-9 lead.
With just over six minutes to play in the first, a pair of Watkins free throws made it 21-20 in Binghamton's favor, before a layup from King gave Akron the lead it would never relinquish.
UA held a slim three-point lead at halftime, 30-27, but ran away with the game in the second half, outscoring the Bearcats 50-22. Brown scored all but six of her points in the second 20 minutes, helping the Zips to shoot 61.1 percent from the floor. Plybon and Brown nailed back-to-back 3-pointers with just under five minutes to play in the game to make it 71-48 and all but seal the victory.
The Zips face a quick turnaround as they return to action on Saturday to take on Northern Kentucky in the final game of the Akron Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Rhodes Arena.
Ohio 111, Murray State 60
Short Story: With a career-high 25 points from Hannah Boesinger and another 25 points from Kiyanna Black, the Bobcats defeated Murray State 111-60 Friday evening at the CFSB Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Bobcats’ 111 points marked the first time since Nov. 19, 2004 that Ohio scored 100 or more points in a game. In that game they scored 106.
• The last time the Bobcats scored 111 points in a game was Dec. 23, 1991 against Hofstra.
• The Bobcats are now 2-1 all-time against Murray State.
• Bobcats opened with game with six-straight three pointers.
• Bobcats went on a 27-0 run starting at 14:31 mark in the first half.
• Sophomore Hannah Boesinger (Hudson, Ohio) set a career-high in points with 25, with 20 of them coming in the first half.
• Boesinger was 6-of-8 from the three-point line, setting a career high in attempted threes and three-pointers made.
• Junior Kiyanna Black (Columbus, Ohio) finished with 25 points.
• Black was 7-of-13 from behind the arc.
• Boesinger’s and Black’s 25-plus points was the first time since a Bobcat scored 25-29 in a game since Quiera Lampkins (Gahanna, Ohio) scored 27 against Buffalo on Feb. 27, 2014.
• Jasmine Weatherspoon (Columbus, Ohio) grabbed 10 rebounds before fouling out.
• Freshman Kelly Karlis (Medinah, Ill.) scored 12 points in her Bobcat debut.
• Overall, the Bobcats were 18-37 from the three-point line (49%).
• The Bobcats recorded 22 assists. The last time Ohio dished out more than 20 assists in the game was Dec. 30, 2013 against UMBC.
• Sophomore Yamonie Jenkins (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) recorded seven assists, a career high.
• The Bobcats shot 62 percent from three-point range in the first half.
• Lampkins grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds.
• Karlis recorded three blocked shots and seven rebounds.
• The Bobcats collected 58 rebounds. The last time that happened, Ohio collected 50 or more rebounds on Jan. 12, 2014 when they had 51.
• The 58 rebounds in a game is now fifth all-time in Ohio’s single game records.
• That was the fourth-straight season opening victory for the Bobcats.
QUOTABLE
“The first couple games are tricky because you don’t have a lot of tape to go on. You really have to rely heavily on your own principles and I thought we did that tonight with our defensive rotation. I thought it was very good. There was a stretch in the middle of the first half where I thought our defense was tremendous and cleaned it up with rebounds. I was obviously very happy with this performance and we’ll try to make some improvements with a quick turn around for Monday.” – Head coach Bob Boldon
UP NEXT
The Bobcats return to the Convocation Center Monday, Nov. 17 when they face Wofford. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Northern Illinois 55, Illinois State 51
DeKALB - The NIU women’s basketball team defeated in-state rival Illinois State in the season-opener Friday night, 55-51, as the Huskies carried a pus eight rebounding margin. NIU captured its first season opening win since 2009 as freshman Kelly Smith (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) led all-scorers in the game with 17 points.
The Huskies have taken the last two against ISU as they won the last meeting on Dec. 5, 2013, 57-52. NIU had never won two in a row against the Redbirds until this evening’s victory.
Since 2007-08, no NIU freshman had ever led the Huskies in scoring in the season-opener or scored at least 10 points.
“It was a great team win for us tonight. I thought we did a great job of staying together as a team and sticking to our game plan. We really showed a lot of mental toughness towards the end as well,” said Head Coach Kathi Bennett.
“We realized after our exhibition game that when things get tough, we need to stay together, no matter what’s going on, and I think that message got across because I really believe that helped us get the win tonight. There was a lot of confidence and faith in each other in our huddles during timeouts down the stretch and it felt good,” Bennett closed.
The teams traded blows for the opening eight minutes of the contest as NIU and ISU were knotted, 10-10, at the second media timeout with 11:59 remaining.
A jump shot by sophomore Ally Lehman (Nineveh, Ind./Indian Creek) with 10:59 remaining in the first half gave the Huskies their final lead of the game, 12-10. The shot started a 15-4 run for the Huskies over the next five and half minutes of play to put NIU on top, 25-14, with 5:30 left.
At halftime, Smith had already accumulated 10 points, going 3-for-7 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line in 17 minutes. Jenna Thorp (Hinckley, Ill./Hinckley-Big Rock) and Lehman each contributed seven points in the first half as well.
Free throws were crucial for the Huskies in the contest as they went 16-for-22 at the charity stripe, making eight attempts each in the first and second half. Both teams accounted for 30 defensive rebounds in the contest. However, NIU worked the offensive glass as it outrebounded the Redbirds, 14-6, which led to 11 second chance points for the Huskies.
ISU climbed back within three points of NIU with 4:24 as Katy Winge hit a jumper, 43-40. 12 seconds later, Smith made the only three-pointer of the game for NIU as it brought momentum back in the Huskies favor at 46-40.
When the Redbirds brought the game to within one point with 3:19 left in the second half, Thorp drove the ball from in front of the Huskie bench to the paint to convert a layup and put NIU back on top by three, 49-46. Lehman iced it for the Huskies with two free throws to increase the Huskie lead to seven, 53-46, with just over a minute left.
Lehman closed the game with 11 points, eight rebounds and game-best five assists in a career-high 36 minutes. Thorp’s effort on the evening included a team best shooting percentage, 5-of-9 (.555), with 13 points, six boards and three steals. Freshman Renee Sladek (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) had rebounds as well.
Winge led all ISU scorers with 12 points in the contest. The Redbirds committed 15 turnovers to the Huskies nine.
NIU returns to the floor Monday afternoon when it takes on the UIC Flames at the UIC Pavillion. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Western Michigan 63, UMASS 41
KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan women's basketball team rolled to a 63-41 victory over visiting UMass Friday night in the Broncos' season-opener.
In his third season, Western Michigan head coach Shane Clipfell is now 3-0 in season openers. The last Bronco coach to win the opening game in three straight years was legendary Hall of Fame coach Fran Ebert (1978-80).
WMU got off to a slow start, trailing UMass by eight midway through the first half. A three-pointer by freshman post Teagan Reeves tied the game at 17-17 and the Broncos stepped up their defense to force nine turnovers in the final eight minutes of the first half.
The aggressive defense led to quick points and Western Michigan pulled away to build a 13-point advantage (34-21) headed into the half.
The Broncos forced the Minutewomen into 22 turnovers in the game, meanwhile WMU limited its turnovers to seven. Western Michigan only had one game with less than 10 turnovers all of last season.
The Broncos got big games from seniors Jazmine Windham and Michelle O'Brien. Windham registered 16 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. O'Brien tallied her eighth career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Last year O'Brien pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds against UMass.
Junior Jessica Jessing was the third player to score in double figures for Western Michigan, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds. Reeves had nine points and four boards.
Joining Reeves and also making their official collegiate debut were freshmen LaTondra Brooks, Aneisha Carlisle, Alexis Parks and Najee Smith. Brooks scored her first career points, totaling five.
The Broncos shot 36.2 percent for the game, while UMass shot 34.0 percent.
Western Michigan returns to University Arena next Wednesday, Nov. 19, as the team has the luxury of beginning the 2014-15 season with back-to-back home games. The Broncos host North Dakota State. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
North Dakota State 74, Kent State 68
FARGO, N.D. – Kent State (0-1) had the lead for the majority of its season-opener, but North Dakota State (1-0) was able to take the victory by a final score of 74-68 Friday afternoon.
The Golden Flashes were up by 11 points two different times in the opening half and took a 38-34 lead into the break at halftime. That lead came in part to 53.3% shooting including 20 points in the paint to open the game.
They added to their lead to open the second half, reaching a double-digit advantage multiple times before the Bison were able to sneak back in to the game. Up by seven at the 7:57 media timeout, the Golden Flashes committed six turnovers and missed their last five field goals of the game while North Dakota State went on a 24-9 run to close out the contest.
CiCi Shannon was Kent State's leading scorer with 17 points and ten rebounds. Larissa Lurken finished with 14 points with 3-for-6 three-point shooting. Jordan Korinek nearly recorded a double-double in her official debut with nine points and seven rebounds.
The Golden Flashes' defense held the Bison to 38% shooting in the game. However, Kent State committed 27 turnovers that resulted in 33 points for the home time. The Golden Flashes won the battle on the glass with 43 rebounds compared to North Dakota's 28.
Kent State will host Youngstown State in the 2014-15 home opener next Tuesday at 5:30p.m. The game is the first game of a double header with the men's team at the M.A.C. Center. Tickets are available at 330-672-2244.
Siena 58, Buffalo 50
BUFFALO, NY – The State University of New York, Buffalo women's basketball team suffered a 58-50 setback to visiting Siena Friday night in its season opener at Alumni Arena.
The Bulls were held scoreless over the final five minutes of play, while the Saints pieced together a 15-0 streak to seal the victory.
"You play the game to win the game, you play the game to find a way to win and learn lessons through the process," said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "We're going to have to get back to practice, learn some things and get better and hopefully show a different outcome when we play again."
Senior Kristen Sharkey opened the game with a layup, but 10 consecutive Siena points followed over the span of four minutes. In her first game back since a season-ending injury in 2012-13, redshirt-sophomore Rachael Gregory drained a three pointer on an Alexus Malone assist to spark a 15-4 UB run that resulted in a 17-16 edge at 7:50. The game was knotted for the fifth time at 3:47, 25-25, but the Saints inched ahead for a 33-29 gap at intermission.
Ten lethargic minutes opened the second stint as the teams combined to score just 14 points and deadlock the game at 38-38. Back-to-back UB three-pointers, separated by just one Siena free throw, secured the Bulls a 47-42 lead at 7:53. UB extended its cushion to seven, 50-43, at 4:58 with a Gregory layup – a layup that proved to be the Bulls' final points of the game.
The Saints drove the lane late to surge ahead. Siena had four layups, including an and-one, to regain the lead, 52-50, at 1:23. Senior Tehresa Coles confirmed the victory at the line in the waning moments of the game. She was a flawless 6-for-6 down the stretch.
Siena freshman Margot Hetzke led all players with a double-double of 29 points and 11 boards in her collegiate debut. Coles added 13 points and six rebounds to help the Saints outrebound UB, 49-37. The visiting squad pulled down 20 offensive rebounds.
Senior Christa Baccas posted six blocks on the night to go with six points and nine rebounds. With a career-best eight blocks, she has tallied six or more on seven occasions. Tonight's six rank tied for 10th on the single-game list.
Malone led UB on the boards, pulling down 10. Junior Mackenzie Loesing had a Bull-best 13 points with Gregory chipping in 12.
Buffalo narrowly outshot Siena hitting 32.1 percent from the field to the Saints' 31.0 percent showing. Siena committed 20 turnovers, though collected 15 steals. Buffalo suffered 23 turnovers and made 10 steals.
UB looks to even its record on Tuesday, Nov. 18 when it travels to St. Francis (PA) for a 7 pm non-conference contest.
Bucknell 53, Bowling Green 52
Visiting Bucknell University escaped the Stroh Center with a victory, downing the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team by a 53-52 count Friday night (Nov. 14). The game was the regular-season opener for both teams.
Senior Deborah Hoekstra had 17 points to lead three double-digit scorers for the Falcons. Junior Miriam Justinger scored 12 points, while sophomore Rachel Konieczki had 11. Another sophomore, Abby Siefker, scored nine points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds for the Brown and Orange.
The other six Falcons who saw action in the game, however, combined for only three points. Freshman Rachel Myers scored two points and classmate Haley Puk one.
Bucknell got 16 points from Claire Maree O'Bryan and 10 from Carly Richardson in the road win.
After Justinger hit a jumper 29 seconds into the game, neither would score for over two minutes. Siefker's layup at the 17:21 mark gave the hosts a 4-0 lead, but the Bison then went on a 7-0 run. Audrey Dotson got the visitors on the board with a layup three-and-a-half minutes in, and Tyler Craig scored five-straight points, with a layup followed by a three-pointer for a 7-4 BU lead with five minutes gone. Siefker took a pass from senior Jasmine Matthews and hit a jumper, but a trey by Richardson gave the visitors a 10-6 lead. After turning the ball over, the Falcons called a timeout with just over six minutes elapsed.
Following that timeout, the Falcons got a stop, then proceeded to go on an 8-0 run, making three consecutive shots in three trips down the floor. Myers took a Matthews pass and hit a layup, and Hoekstra got free for back-to-back three-pointers just 31 seconds apart, with Justinger assisting on both. The Falcons had a 14-10 lead.
Bucknell responded with five-straight points, beginning with O'Bryan's trey, but Hoekstra's jumper midway through the period gave her eight points and her team a 16-15 edge. She hit double figures at the 7:39 mark, knocking down a pair of free throws for a 19-16 BG lead.
Megan McGurk drained a triple try with just over six minutes left in the period, but Konieczki answered with a long-range shot of her own just 15 seconds later, and the Falcons were up by a point, 22-21. Hoekstra's third three-ball of the half increased the lead to four points, but Bucknell's second extended run of the half erased that lead.
That run began with an O'Bryan jumper with five minutes left before halftime, and she made it a 7-0 run with another jumper just over a minute later. The run reached 10-0 at the 2:12 mark, with O'Bryan making a three. She had seven of her team's points during that 10-0 stretch. Three free throws from Justinger cut BG's six-point deficit in half, but Micki Impellizeri split two tosses with 22 seconds to go, and the Bison took a 32-28 lead into the intermission.
Konieczki hit a three-pointer just 12 seconds into the second half, and a Justinger layup gave the Falcons the lead, but two free throws and a Craig layup put the visitors ahead by three. The free throws came after redshirt junior Erica Donovan was called for her third foul with 18:09 left in the game.
Justinger hit two free throws, and a Hoekstra layup gave the Falcons a 37-36 lead with 15 minutes to go. A pair of layups by Shearira Jones began a 6-0 run for BU, but Siefker converted a three-point play around a media timeout, and Justinger's long range shot, off an assist by Puk, gave the Brown and Orange a 43-42 lead with 10:23 left. Siefker's layup a minute later made it an 8-0 BG run, and the Bison used a timeout with 9:24 to go.
O'Bryan hit a pair of layups, and when Claire DeBoer scored inside with 7:03 left, BU's lead was three points once again, 48-45. Konieczki got herself to the line and made both tries, but Richardson drained a three with 4:43 left, then canned a jumper less than a minute later, and Bucknell was ahead by a 53-47 score with just over four minutes remaining. The Bison, though, would not score again.
A three-point play by Konieczki with 2:52 left cut the Bucknell lead to three points, and BG forced a Bucknell turnover. But, Koniezcki was called for a charge with 2:16 to go. Again, however, the Falcon defense got a stop, and after Hoekstra grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled, the senior made a pair of free throws with 1:34 remaining.
Matthews came up with a steal with 1:08 left, but BG turned the ball right back over. The Bison used most of the shot clock on the ensuing possession, but a DeBoer shot would not drop, and Hoekstra grabbed the rebound. The final possession of the game, however, saw a Hoekstra last-second three-point attempt go in and out, and the visitors had held on for the win.
The Falcons will conclude a brief two-game homestand with a Tuesday (Nov. 18) game vs. Iona. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Stroh.
Cleveland State 81, Toledo 71
CLEVELAND, OH – Toledo dropped an 81-71 decision at Cleveland State in Friday’s season opener in the Wolstein Center. With the loss, the Rockets (0-1) fall to 21-20 all-time in season-opening contests in program history.
The host Vikings (1-0) buried 11 three-point field goals to help them claim their fourth win in the last five matchups against UT in Cleveland. Five different CSU players knocked down a trey in the 10-point triumph.
Cori Coleman led Cleveland State with a game-high four triples and a contest-best 20 points, followed by Adesuwa Aideyman with three treys and 13 points. CSU also benefitted from strong performances by Imani Gordon (16 points, nine rebounds) and Ashanti Abshaw (12 points) to hand UT its second consecutive season-opening setback.
Sophomore Sophie Reecher and classmate Janice Monakana paced the Rockets with 14 points each. Reecher added a career-high 15 rebounds to post her first collegiate double-double. Junior Ana Capotosto and freshman Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott also contributed 11 points each off the bench in a losing effort.
UT shot 42.9 percent (27-of-63) from the field, including 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from three-point land, and 60.0 percent (12-of-20) from the charity stripe. The Midnight Blue & Gold also finished with a slight 40-39 edge on the boards and totaled more assists (13) than turnovers (12).
The teams traded baskets for a majority of the first half before Cleveland State rattled home three triples in a span of a minute to establish a nine-point advantage, 34-25, at the 5:08 mark. CSU’s Olivia Voskuhl, Abshaw and Coleman each knocked down a trey in the game-changing spurt to build a lead it would not relinquish.
The Rockets chipped away at the deficit in the closing moments of the opening half, before CSU’s Gordon drained a triple at the buzzer to make the difference 41-31 at the intermission.
CSU converted six three-point field goals in the opening 20 minutes, compared to only one by UT to create a double-digit lead at the break.
Cleveland State continued to shoot the ball well from the outside to begin the second half, receiving another trey from Coleman to push the margin to 50-38 at the 12:10 mark.
Toledo fought mightily to get back into the contest and benefitted from three layups by Reecher to make it a seven-point contest, 62-55, with 4:53 remaining in regulation.
Unfortunately for the Rockets, they would get no closer as CSU’s Aideyman responded with back-to-back three-pointers to put the contest out of reach.
UT will return to the hardwood on Thursday, Nov. 20 when it hosts St. Bonaventure at 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena.
Purdue 66, Ball State 60
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State women’s basketball team suffered a 66-60 loss to Big Ten foe Purdue in its 2014-15 season opener at home Friday night in front of 4,012 fans, which was the third largest crowd in program history.
“First of all what a crowd, just really impressed with the community getting around this and the students, clearly Purdue traveled well but there was no doubt who the home team was today,” Ball State head women’s basketball coach Brady Sallee said. “When I came in a couple years ago that was one of the things we wanted to do, we wanted to give the fans a reason to come out. I would like to think it was because of who we were playing but I really think it was because people thought it would be a whale of a ball game.”
Junior Nathalie Fontaine led the Cardinals and became the 23rd member of the Ball State women’s basketball 1,000 point club after tallying 21 points on the night. She now has 1,018 points for her career and reached the 1,000 point club faster than any player in Ball State history except for Hall of Famer Tamara Bowie.
After falling behind 30-23 at the half, the Cardinals opened the second half with a 14-4 run to take their first lead since its 3-2 leading margin. After the run, Ball State led 37-34 at the 12:33 mark on a three pointer by Moriah Monaco. Ball State increased its lead to 39-34 on a layup by Jill Morrison, but the Boilermakers would tie the game at 39-39 and never trail again.
The Cardinals would battle to within one point three more times in the game with the final time at 52-51 with 4:38 to play when Fontaine scored on a layup.
Purdue would lead by as much as seven before a three pointer by Candyce Ussery with six seconds left in the game pulled Ball State to within four at 64-60.
Fontaine would score her 1,000th point after back-to-back layups at the 10:56 and the 10:52 mark to cut Purdue’s lead back to eight (19-11) and ended the night on 9-of-17 shooting from the field. She also led the Cardinals with 12 rebounds, while Shelbie Justice added 14 points and eight rebounds. Morrison was the third Ball State player to score in double figures with 12 points, while Calyn Hosea led the team with five assists.
Ball State managed to shoot 43.8 percent from the field, while limiting Purdue to a 34.0 mark for the contest, but the Cardinals’ 18 turnovers in the contest proved costly.
The Ball State women’s basketball team continues its two-game home stand when it hosts Evansville Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Worthen Arena. To purchase tickets for the game, log on to www.ballstatesports.com or call 1.888.BSU.TICKET.
