CLEVELAND - All season, the women's basketball team was presented with opportunities to reach its goal, an NCAA berth. Time and again, the Cards fell in line for Ball State as the team blew chances through losses and injuries on their way to a co-Mid-American Conference title for the second-straight year.
Finally, with their ultimate goal on the line, the Cards let one more opportunity slip by as they fell to Western Michigan in the MAC Tournament title game, 81-76, leaving a near-tearful head coach Tracy Roller wondering what might have been.
"We always said for us to get that chance, to be in that game when it was on the line..." Roller said. "I hope no one ever has to feel what I am feeling right now."
In a style that has become typical of the Cardinals (20-9), they blew an early nine-point lead. Western (20-11) stormed back to take a 39-37 halftime lead behind the 11 points from sub Kelly Koerber.
The Broncos went on a 13-0 run to build a 60-47 lead with 10:17 remaining in the game. But it was not the fact that Western's high-octane offense finally started to click. Rather, its smothering zone defense stopped the Cardinals from finding open perimeter shots, as they did in hitting seven first half 3-pointers.
Nonetheless, Ball State did not want to give up in its second-straight title game. Behind the play of sophomore Kate Endress, the Cardinals came back to tie the game.
"We were just moving too much laterally and not penetrating their zone to make them work," Endress said, who scored 21 of her 26 points in the second half. "I was sitting out when I realized we were down 13, and something went off in my head that something had to be done now."
But the waning seconds bid the Cardinals a fond farewell as Johna Goff's last-ditch 3-pointer rimmed out and the team's final NCAA aspirations flew out as if someone had just opened a window.
For one Cardinal, senior Tamara Bowie, it was the last MAC game she would ever play. Despite all her school and MAC records and Player of the Year awards, Bowie left without the only accolade she ever truly wanted, a MAC Tournament title and the ever-elusive NCAA berth.
"I don't want to take away anything from this season, because we've had a great season," Bowie said. "But when you want something so bad and you don't get it, it's really hard."
Bowie finished with 14 points and four rebounds, while Goff had 17 and seven, respectively. Jessica Reiter had 12 rebounds and Dana Collins seven assists.
Casey Rost's 20 points led the Bronco effort.
Roller was contacted late Sunday about her team's fate for the National Invitational Tournament. The Cardinals will travel to Indiana State for a first round matchup Friday.
The Sycamores are 22-8 after falling in the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. A win Friday for BSU would mean a game on Sunday or Monday with the winner of Western Illinois-Missouri.
Ball State lost in the second round of last second round of last season's NIT, defeating Louisville before falling to Valparaiso.
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