Holding a 21-point lead with five minutes remaining in the second half of Saturday's game against Bowling Green State University, Ball State University's band burst into a chant of "We're not gonna take it, anymore."
Whether it was planned or not, the timing couldn't have been any better. After losing their last five meetings with the Falcons - the last four by double digits - the Cardinals earned a 68-47 victory in front of almost 2,000 fans at Worthen Arena. The win marked Ball State's first against Bowling Green since a five-point victory Feb. 19, 2003, and was the first home win since 2001.
"It is just one game and we had to keep that in mind," acting head coach Lisa McDonald said. "But at the same time, there is that rivalry, and we haven't beaten them five straight times. What we really focused on is that this isn't about paybacks and this wasn't about revenge. This was just about our future - not where we've been, but where we're going. We really felt like we could make a statement about where Ball State basketball is going by getting a win."
Bowling Green played without five of its six leading scorers from last year.
The Cardinals' post combination of seniors Julie DeMuth and Lisa Rusche along with freshman Emily Maggert led Ball State to a 38-14 scoring advantage in the paint. The Falcons also lost the rebounding battle 47-33.
"As good as the guard play is in this conference year in and year out, championship teams in the past half decade have been teams with dominating post games," Bowling Green coach Curt Miller said. "Ball State is clearly showing they have a dominant post game."
Ball State's first six points came from layups in the paint.
DeMuth, who finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, said McDonald continued emphasizing the importance of playing through the post.
"Coach [McDonald] said this is a war and it's won in the trenches," DeMuth said. "The trenches is the paint. I think we did a really good job of taking advantage of our opportunities in the paint."
Falcons' senior point guard Kate Achter paced Bowling Green with 18 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. The rest of the team, however, connected on seven field goals and finished 17 percent from the field.
Perhaps more important than Ball State's defensive execution was its rebounding. The Cardinals recorded a season-high 35 defensive rebounds, which helped limit Bowling Green to nine second-chance points.
"We haven't done a great job of finishing possessions with rebounds all year," McDonald said. "I thought we did an outstanding job of giving them one shot throughout the game and not letting them get second chances on possessions."
Keeping Saturday's victory in perspective, McDonald said the win served as a major confidence boost for her team as it moves on with the season. Bowling Green not only leads the East Division this year, the Falcons have also won the past three Mid-American Conference Championships and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen last season. Its loss Saturday was the third in its past 50 games.
"Our goals ultimately - we want to win the MAC West, we want to win the MAC outright, we want to win the MAC tournament," McDonald said. "When you're able to beat the leader in the East, that helps you out quite a bit."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
