In a game where momentum shifted back and forth with seemingly every play, Ball State coach Brady Sallee didn’t doubt that at least one of his players would provide a spark to push the Cardinals to what ended up being a 56-41 win.
Brandy Woody and Brittany Carter delivered.
Leading by just one with 11:42 left, Shelbie Justice found Brandy Woody, who nailed a 3-pointer to extend the lead to four.
“We knew it was just a matter of time before the three’s started to drop,” Sallee said. “We talked about making adjustments at halftime, and we did a great job of executing them on the floor.”
Thirty seconds later, Eastern Michigan’s Taylor Bird missed a jump shot and the rebound was pulled down by Woody. Seconds later, Woody found Carter who was open for three. She pulled the trigger and drained the shot, extending the lead to seven with 11 minutes left on the clock.
In just 42 seconds, Carter and Woody swung momentum into Ball State’s favor, and took what was a nail biter and turned it into a comfortable lead against an Eastern Michigan team that struggled to score all game.
Carter scored 12 points, but her impact reached beyond just the points she scored. She added three assists, three steals and two blocks, helping in every way she could. Sallee praised her eagerness to contribute in multiple ways, saying that he believes it mirrors what he preaches during practice.
“The game is so much more than just making shots and if you’re a player who only scores, you aren’t being as effective as we want you to be,” Sallee said. “To see her affect the game not just with her scoring but with her assists and steals and blocks, I thought that was really big for us.”
Down 12-20 with just 2:07 left in the first half, Nathalie Fontaine found her way to the basket for a layup, and helped kick start the Cardinals’ offense. Ball State would finish the half with just 18 points, but the layup started a 44-23 run for the Cardinals through the rest of the game.
Ball State more than doubled their first half scoring by putting up 38 in the second half. Sallee said that he expected the first half to be low scoring, because of the physical and aggressive defense that Eastern Michigan plays.
“I knew we were going to muddy it up a bit and make sure it was close at halftime, when I had an idea of what Eastern Michigan would be playing,” Sallee said. “I told them at halftime to stay aggressive and keep your poise. Eventually I knew the shots would start to drop and we’d put up some points.”
Sallee’s prediction proved to be correct. Starting with Woody’s 3-pointer, Ball State scored 26 points over the 11 minutes, with Fontaine, Justice and lone senior Shanee’ Jackson contributing. Fontaine led the team with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Jackson finished with 12 points, Justice had nine.
Having multiple scoring threats on the court was something Sallee said was important to having offensive success against the Eagles. He said that the zone defense Eastern Michigan plays would require his offense to be unselfish, be willing to pass the ball until someone was open, and that his team couldn’t hesitate to shoot once the zone broke down.
Woody and Carter didn’t hesitate, just like their coach wanted.
