With 11 seconds left in the game and up by three, senior forward Emily Maggert went to the foul line to shoot two shots and potentially put Ball State up by five.
She missed both, and Butler's Mandy McDivitt took advantage with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 81 with 4.3 seconds to go.
"[Maggert] was twelve for twelve up to that point," coach Kelly Packard said. "She didn't do anything differently. She's the one I want shooting in that situation."
Her missed foul shots were forgotten about when senior guard Ty'ronda Benning hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer to win the game.
But after watching the replay, the officials ruled Benning did not get the shot off in time, the second time this season she had a shot waved off.
"I thought it was good," Benning said. "But oh, I guess it wasn't."
Packard said she thought the shot was late.
In the first overtime, the Cardinals had the lead late until Butler's Claire Freeman hit a running lay up with two seconds to go. Freshman guard Brandy Woody's attempt from half court missed, sending the game to a second overtime tied at 89.
The Bulldogs took control in the second overtime by leading by as many as ten points and did not surrender the lead on route to a 105-98 win.
Packard said the reason her team struggled in overtime because they were struggling to keep fundamentals. But she said that reflected both teams.
"We were scrambling," Packard said. "They had lost key players we lost [Maggert] at that point you're trying to stay committed to fundamentals defensively and scramble when you try to cover it up. Offensively was a struggle for us especially when [Maggert] went out."
For the second time this season, Ball State scored first when Woody hit a 3-pointer. She scored the first seven points for her team.
After leading by as many as eight in the first half, the Cardinals went into the locker room with a 36-35 advantage.
The first ten minutes of the second half was dominated by Ball State, at one point leading 63-49 with over ten minutes to play.
The Bulldogs controlled the final ten minutes, as they climbed back to eventually tie the game before the end of regulation.
Ball State had one of its best shooting performances, shooting 49 percent from the field and 67 percent from 3-point range.
Junior Megan Craft and freshman Jordan Huber were both perfect from 3-point range, Craft making five and Huber making three.
Craft's 16 points were a career high.
"They went into a zone defense and when I'm in I'm not in for my defense, I'm in to shoot," Craft said.
Craft said the basket was as big as the ocean during the game, but was not enough to get the win.
When Maggert fouled out with 48 seconds to go in the first overtime she finished the game with 21 points and nine rebounds. Benning added 18 points and eight assists but also committed nine turnovers.
Butler had six players score in double figures. Chloe Hamilton, Brittany Bowen, Sarah Hamm and Devin Brierly all fouled out for the Bulldogs.
Packard described the game as more than a disappointment.
"It's nauseated," Packard said. "I'm not blaming any single player, it's a we thing. It's much a responsibility as mine as a player. Disappointment doesn't cut it. It's a deep feeling of just ‘yuck."
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