Ball State’s magical run in the WNIT finally ended Thursday night.
The women’s basketball team fell to Kansas State after giving up a barrage of 3-pointers, 60-48.
In a somewhat fitting end, senior Shanee’ Jackson led the Cardinals in scoring with 16 points off 6-of-8 shooting.
Ball State outscored Kansas State in the paint 28-10, but as coach Brady Sallee said, “3-pointers are a great equalizer.”
Brittany Chambers, the No. 2 scorer in the Big 12, laid it on Ball State with a game-high 23 points off 7-of-12 from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
“When you break down, she’s going to score,” Sallee said of the senior guard. “I do think we made her earn them. She didn’t just go out there and go LeBron on us. She is every bit as good as they say she is.
Ball State gave up 12 3-pointers to Kansas State, but off 35 attempts for 34 percent.
“They live and die with it,” Sallee said of Kansas State’s 3-pointers. “I knew that was going to be a little bit of a struggle for us to extend as much.”
Ball State opened up to an early 15-7 lead in the first half off three Nathalie Fontaine layups and a pair of 3-pointers from Shelbie Justice and Brittany Carter.
However, Kansas State then went on a 24-7 run, and went into halftime with a 31-22 lead.
Sallee didn’t believe the defense was the main problem in the game.
“If you had told me they were going to score 60, I would’ve said that we have a chance to win,” he said.
Fontaine recorded a double-double in the Sweet Sixteen, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
“Between the missed layups, offensive rebounds (15), and the turnovers (19), I think we made it awfully hard on ourselves,” Sallee said.
Read More
Ball State football’s blowout loss to Ohio summarizes failed season
By Kyle Smedley / 21 hours agoAfter the Bobcats’ 42-21 routing, the Cardinals finished the season with their worst record since 2017.
Ball State football pushes through outside noise ahead of Black Friday game against Ohio
By Kyle Smedley / 2 days agoThe Cardinals are setback by injuries and early transfer portal entries heading into the final game of the season against the Bobcats.
