Every indication was that the University of Michigan's six-foot-six-inch center Krista Phillips was going to be the biggest challenge Ball State University faced Friday night in Ann Arbor, Mich.
That wasn't the case.
The season opener for the Cardinals didn't go as planned. While Phillips was held to six points on six shots, it was the supporting cast that stepped up and provided the lift to give the Wolverines a 20-point victory, 87-67.
Junior forward Emily Maggert provided the silver lining in the loss for the Ball State, posting a double-double. Maggert scored 16 points and snagged 10 rebounds on the night. Guards Audrey McDonald and Ty'Ronda Benning also finished the night in double digits for the Cardinals. Benning ended the night with 13 points while McDonald added 12 with two 3-pointers.
Michigan jumped on top early, taking control with an 11-3 run in the first four minutes of the game. A pair of Maggert buckets followed by a 3-pointer from McDonald kept the Cardinals close going into the first media timeout, trailing 13-8.
That would be as close as Ball State would stay with Michigan the rest of the night.
McDonald went 2-for-10 from 3-point land. At the half, the Cardinals trailed 44-23, mostly by shooting 29 percent from the floor while the Wolverines had a 46 percent success rate.
The Cardinals found their stroke in the second half, hitting 53 percent of their shots en route to posting 44 second half points. The increase in offensive firepower after the break wasn't enough however. Michigan continued its offensive onslaught and put 43 more points on the board while shooting 47 percent from the floor.
Reynolds led all scorers with 19, while Veronica Hicks and Dayeesha Hollins added 15 and 12 points.
Ball State turned the ball over 28 times throughout the course of the night. The Wolverines also had problems holding onto the ball, turning it over 17 times.
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