WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Defense leads Ball State to 68-61 win over Central Michigan

Ball State was ranked second in the MAC in field goal defense. Central Michigan was first in scoring. Something had to give.

Cardinals coach Brady Sallee didn’t want it to be his defense.

Holding Central Michigan to just 30 percent shooting, defense and toughness were Ball State’s keys in their 68-61 win. After watching his team execute the game plan, Sallee was happy with his players trust in his system.

“This team has done as good of a job as any team I’ve ever coached in accepting a game plan, believing in a game plan and following a game plan,” Sallee said. “Come hell or high water, they’re going to do what I ask them to do.”

For this game, it was to try to limit the damage done by Crystal Bradford. One of the most dangerous scorers in the MAC, averaging 15.1 points per game, she shot just 3-of-20 and only had 7 points.

Often double teamed near the basket, Bradford took many well contested shots and was troubled by Nathalie Fontaine’s height and length.

“We’ll take the fact that she couldn’t get many shots to drop tonight,” Sallee said. “We’ll call it the curse of John E. Worthen Arena and we’ll move on from there.”

Despite a late game surge from Central Michigan, the Cardinals seemed to control momentum throughout the game. Against a high scoring team, Ball State didn’t fall for shot fakes from behind the three point line. Instead, they kept their feet planted and funneled shooters towards the middle, where they were met by Fontaine and another help defender.

Ball State also displayed the kind of physicality that Sallee has preached all season. Junior Brandy Woody was the poster child, often singlehandedly shutting down players who were significantly bigger than her. She led the team with four steals and showed the effort that makes Sallee proud, while continuing to execute the game plan spelled out in the last few days.

“I’m kind of having fun coming up with different game plans and putting them out in front of them,” Sallee said. “This group has really bought in and done a good job with it.”

A key to Ball State’s success, Fontaine’s size created problems for Central Michigan. Often providing solid defense under the basket to frustrate Bradford, she had numerous fast break layups and worked her way to the basket with ease. Scoring a season high 23 points, her hustle down the court on both sides of the ball was unmatched throughout a lot of the game.

Despite the size brought by Fontaine and Katie Murphy, Ball State’s leading defensive rebounder was guard Brittany Carter. Pulling in nine, she prevented Central Michigan from capitalizing on many of their missed shots, where the Chippewas dominated second chance points 20 to 7.

Now perched high atop the MAC West standings, tied for first with Toledo, Sallee was pleased with how mentally tough his team is. He said being able to bounce back from a bad turn of events is critical, and his team excels at it.

“You’re seeing a lot of the things that we’ve done throughout the season, adversity included, starting to play out,” Sallee said. “You’re starting to see a team on the back end of it that’s just pretty tough.”

A team that’s learned from their experiences late it games so far, Sallee said that his team is has learned from their previous mistakes to become better. That includes playing hard-nosed, physical basketball.

“We’ve identified that toughness is who we’re going to be,” Sallee said. “Tonight I had the toughest team on the floor.”