Ball State Women’s Basketball finished their break in Florida with zero wins, however, there were some positives and improvement was made in their three game stretch. Here are some takeaways from the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Growing pains
Although the Cardinals were not able to come out of Florida with a win, the team has been getting better each game and it showed in the showcase. “I thought we had a good three days, we did a lot of things really well,” Ball State head coach Brady Sallee said. “We learned a lot about ourselves, and we made steps from just competing to learning what we have to do to win.” It seems to be coming all-together for Ball State. The Cardinals were able to put up solid offensive performances as a team throughout the three games and was receiving production from all different positions. The team continued to shoot the ball with confidence and their shots went in at a consistent rate.
Late game execution
Ball State found themselves in back-and-forth battles with Fordham and Quinnipiac, which both came down to the wire. Sallee was pleased with what he saw from the team in the fourth quarters of both games. “Our execution is improving and our mental game is improving,” Sallee said. Ball State didn’t make too many mistakes; things just didn’t happen to go their way. The Cardinals competed throughout and found themselves in a position to get a win every game.
Brown dominating down-low
Sophomore forward Oshlynn Brown caused problems for opponents in the three games leading the Cardinals in points and rebounds throughout. In Sunday’s matchup against Quinnipiac, Brown put up a season-high 20 points. She was able to get whatever she wanted down-low controlling the paint and finding her way in for easy layups. Brown shot a solid 45.4 percent from the field.
Brown also picked up two double-digit rebounding games grabbing 11 against Fordham and 10 against Duke. She finished the showcase averaging 13.3 points and 8 rebounds per game.
Freshmen step up
The Cardinal’s freshmen had plenty of chances to shine in the showcase and they took advantage of it and gave Ball State the impact they needed to battle in these games. Freshman guard Abi Haynes showed her ability to help the team in late game situation with a solid performance at the end of the contest against Fordham. She recorded a season-high 12 points and knocked down 2 threes to keep the Cardinals in the game. Ball State also received good outings from freshmen Anna Clephane and Thelma Dis Agustsdottir. Sallee said he believes that this showcase has helped the team grow and he’s excited to see what’s to come going forward.
Contact Daric Clemens with any comments at diclemens@bsu.edu or on Twitter @DClemens.
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