Miss, miss and another miss.
On Dec. 8, Ball State Women's Basketball faced in-state school IUPUI. It was apparent in the first quarter that both teams had issues shooting the ball, and this proved to be a big part of the contest at Worthen Arena.
In the end, the Cardinals defeated the visiting Jaguars 61-54. Even with the victory, the game was one that was filled with mistakes.
Here are four takeaways from tonight's trial.
Shooting Issues
Shooting was an issue for both contestants in the first half. It was still 0-0 with 2:10 already played.
Ball State opened the game with five straight misses from the three-point line. By the end of the quarter, the Cardinals went 33-of-16 (18.8 percent) from the field and 1-of-9 (11.1 percent) from deep.
Luckily, the Jaguars had the same issue. The visitors went 5-of-17 (29.4 percent) and only hit two three-pointers out of seven attempts (28.6 percent). With the shooting issues, the score at the end of the first quarter was a close one as the Jaguars led 11-12.
After again struggling from the field in the second quarter, the Cardinals trailed at halftime 25-27.
By the end of the game, the Cardinals went 20-of-55 (36.4 percent), and went 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from the three-point range.
Leading scorers sophomore guard Ally Becki with 20 points, who went 5-9 from the field. Behind her was redshirt senior guard Anna Clephane, who had 11 points and went 3-of-11 (27 percent)
Multiple Mistakes
The Cardinals did not help themselves in this game. Obviously, the team’s shooting did not help but it was not just that.
Travels, bad passes, and other mistakes held the Cardinals back. The team looked like a different team compared to the victory over Saint Louis.
In their previous test, Ball State had 21 total assists. Tonight, they only had 12.
Brady Sallee’s Presence
In the middle of the first quarter, head coach Brady Sallee let the officials hear it after senior forward Thelma Dis Agustsdottir was fouled on an apparent three point shot.
After disagreeing with the foul not being called a shooting foul, he barked at the officials.
A few minutes later, sophomore guard Madelyn Bischoff left the game after an apparent injury. Sallee once again ripped into the officiating staff after no foul was called.
Multiple calls on the Cardinals left him glaring and shaking his head at the officials. This turned out to be a common trend in the contest.
But it wasn’t just the referees. Sallee let his team hear his frustration. After a third quarter missed shot, he yelled at the Cardinals after zero of his players went for a rebound.
Positives
Even though the Cardinals struggled in the game, Sallee’s squad had moments of success in the third quarter. Throughout the quarter, Ball State picked up the pace and took a lead that they held onto.
The best Cardinal performance was sophomore guard Ally Becki, who picked up a double-double in the win.
She ended her stat line with 20 points, 14 rebounds and two assists.
One other thing that helped the home team was their free throw shooting. As a team they went 17-of-25 (68 percent). Becki led the Cardinals as she went 7-of-8 (87 percent) at the foul line.
With the missed shots the Cardinals had 43 rebounds. Becki led the team with 14.
Contact Zach Carter with comments at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or on Twitter @ZachCarter85.
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