2022 MAC Women's Basketball Championship Semifinals
#5 Ball State 71, #1 Toledo 66
Box Score
Ball State Press Conference
Toledo Press Conference
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Ball State women's basketball team used a balanced offense to pull off a thrilling 71-66 win over top-seeded Toledo in semifinal action of the 2022 Mid-American Conference Tournament Friday in Rocket Mortgage Field House.
With their fourth-straight victory, the fifth-seeded Cardinals (20-11) advance to the MAC Tournament Championship game for the first time since the 2014 season. Ball State, which will be making its sixth championship game appearance, will face No. 2 seed Buffalo in the title game.
With the win, Ball State snapped Toledo's (26-5) 12-game win streak and was only the second team in the league to defeat the MAC regular season champs.
For the game, junior Sydney Freeman led the Cardinals in scoring with 19 points, while the freshman duo of Ally Becki and Marie Kiefer each registered 12 points. A major factor in the triumph was Ball State's 18 bench points from the trio of Annie Rauch, Estel Puiggros and Ivet Subirats.
Ball State started the game with a 7-0 run after Becki drained a 3-pointer right after BSU won the tip to put the Cardinals on the right track. Ball State then held Toledo scoreless up until the 5:58 mark. The Cardinals continued to have the upper hand the remainder of the quarter to take a 20-15 edge over Toledo.
The Rockets managed to open the second quarter with a 6-0 run, taking their first lead of the contest, 21-20 with 6:39 remaining in the second quarter. But Ball State answered quickly within seconds in dominating fashion as the Cardinals outscored the Rockets 19-4 the remainder of the first half to take an impressive 39-25 cushion over Toledo at intermission.
The Rockets made a comeback in the third and fourth quarters but the Cardinals never lost their composure. BSU remained in control, keeping the lead throughout the rest of the game. Toledo fouled Ball State down the stretch, but the Cardinals made those crucial free throws along with pulling down some key rebounds to seal today's victory.
Ball State and Buffalo are set to square off for the 2022 Mid-American Conference Tournament title game Saturday at 11 a.m. ET in Rocket Mortgage Field House.
