Rebounding and lack of confidence in the post were the keys to Ball State's 81-66 loss in its season opener against Indiana on Friday night at Worthen Arena.
The loss marked the 20th consecutive loss to the Hoosiers, dating back to 1978.
"I talked about two things in the locker room, one of which was rebounding," coach Kelly Packard said. "There was only a four-rebound margin in rebounding, but it was about the effect the four additional rebounds had. It's difficult to swallow after having a defensive stand and giving up an offensive board and having to defend another stand."
Packard said the other thing she talked about in the locker room after the game was the post presence. She said she felt the team was shy and felt confidence was lacking.
Ball State opened the game with turnovers on its first three possessions, but turnovers by Indiana allowed the score to remain close.
After sloppy first half, which included 22 combined turnovers and 21 fouls, the Cardinals found themselves only down 38-36 going into the locker room.
Packard said she felt her team came out on flat on their heels, but senior Ty'Ronda Benning said it made no difference who the opponent was.
"I really don't care who I play," Benning said. "I don't care about the name on the front of the jersey. I'm here to win. I've got a name on my jersey too and I'm trying to win for my team."
Less than two minutes into the second half, senior Jori Davis hit a three-pointer, followed by layups by junior Alisha Goodwin and freshman Simone Deloach were part of a 7-0 run by Indiana that set the tempo for the remainder of the game.
"It's a huge confidence shift for them," Packard said. "Davis comes in, locks and loads and hit a three. That's huge for them and tough things coming out of the locker room."
Ball State cut the lead down to four points after a timeout, but a 9-0 run put Indiana up by 13 and never looked back.
"I agree we came out timid, but I don't think it was necessarily because it was Indiana," senior Emily Maggert said. "I think it was more of first game jitters for the freshman and even for the upperclassmen."
The Cardinals finished the game with 22 turnovers, something Packard did not want with her offensive that wants to push a faster tempo.
"We didn't look like the team we can be," Packard said. "We have the personnel to do it. We would like to do it."
Packard said to fix the turnovers will have to be watched in film to figure out exactly where the turnovers were coming from.
One positive Packard said she saw in the game was the level of competitiveness in the first half from her team.
"It wasn't beautiful basketball for us or them," Packard said. "But our level of compete was really high. We hung in there and what stood out to me was we highlighted positioning to take a charge."
The Cardinals drew three offensive charges on the Hoosiers in the game and four opponents had four fouls.
Three of the Indiana players with four fouls, senior Hope Elam, senior Lindsay Whitney and Goodwin, combined for 44 points on the night.
Davis and Goodwin led the Hoosiers in scoring with 19 points apiece. Benning led the Cardinals with 16 points.
Packard said the loss to Indiana will be a learning curve, especially for her younger players, for the remainder of the season.
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