COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ball State women’s basketball dropped its first true road contest of the season at #11 Ohio State 80-48.
The Cardinals fell to an extremely talented and well-coached Buckeyes team coming off of a Big Ten regular season championship and picked as a favorite to win the Big Ten again.
Here are four takeaways from the 32-point loss.
Slow start on a B1G stage.
Ball State got off to a slow start in the Schottenstein Center against Ohio State. The score after the first quarter was 24-8 in favor of the Buckeyes, tying the season-low of points in a quarter Ball State scored in the third quarter against Columbia.
Ball State was 4-for-15 from the field and 0-for-6 from deep. The Cardinals' top scorer, senior Ally Becki, was held scoreless through the first quarter and second-leading scorer, senior Lachelle Austin, was 0-for-6 from deep.
The Cardinals were not only struggling to shoot but also struggled to take care of the ball. A ten-second violation and multiple errant passes were part of 15 first-half turnovers. Ball State was able to force eight Buckeye turnovers, but on multiple occasions, those turnovers turned around into Ball State giveaways more often than not. The second half was not much of an improvement with 12 more turnovers.
Ball State also struggled defensively, giving up 24 points in the first quarter. The second largest total given up in a quarter, just one point behind the 25 given up against Columbia. The Buckeyes tacked on 14 more by halftime to create a deficit of 18 going into the break. The gap was too big to overcome for a struggling Ball State offense.
Starters look uncomfortable on the court.
Through the first nine games of the season, Ball State’s bench play has been a sore spot of an otherwise strong start. Players coming off the bench have failed to combine for double-digit points in all but two games. Tonight, the bench combined for 25 points, a season-high.
Graduate student Elise Stuck, a Michigan transfer, was 3-for-4 from the field, the best of all starters. The four other Ball State starters combined for 6-for-23 from the field and all five were 1-for-8 from deep, all combined season lows.
Senior Marie Kiefer, arguably one of the grittiest players in the lineup, looked flustered on the hardwood. Kiefer had seven turnovers, tied for the most in the game with Stuck. Although Stuck coughed up the ball often, it was in part due to her aggressive play against her former rival school.
Potentially the most out-of-the-ordinary takeaway from the game was the struggles from Becki. She has scored less than 10 points just once this season and was unable to connect on a three-pointer for the first time. Becki seemed uncomfortable and passed up on shots she would typically take. She did have four steals, four assists and five rebounds in her typical high number of minutes.
Typically, a high-paced and swiftly moving offense looked slow and off-beat tonight against the Buckeyes. Multiple passes looked forced, and the ball movement was off-beat for an offense that typically moves the ball very well, averaging 14.2 assists per game.
Freshmen step up to the competition.
Freshmen Grace Kingery and Zuri Ransom performed well against the highest-ranked opponent they have played in their young college careers.
Kingery, who is from North Ridgeville, Ohio, was able to play in front of a handful of friends, family, former teammates and coaches, and ran with the opportunity. She was able to play extended and meaningful minutes for the first time this season with 22. Kingery was 2-for-4 from deep and scored eight points on 3-for-5 shooting, all career highs. She also had three rebounds and a block.
Ransom, who has played in all ten games so far, continued to contribute from the bench. Ransom scored five points on 2-for-6 from the field. She also had two assists and a rebound in 15 minutes.
Buckeyes were too much to handle.
Ohio State was rolling tonight and even if Ball State improved its play, it would have been hard to compete with the red-hot Buckeyes.
Coming into the game, Ohio State is eighth in the nation in scoring margin, winning games by an average of 31.9 points. The Buckeyes average 88.4 points per game and continued to dominate tonight against the Cardinals. An extremely high-powered offensive team continued to score points and with an impressive ability.
Ohio State earned the #11 ranking and proved it with its play on the hardwood. It is hard to beat a team shooting 47.7% from the field and 73.3% from the free throw line. Ohio State was picked to finish third in the Big Ten in both media and coaches polls. The Big Ten is already a tough conference from top to bottom, and the Buckeyes will be one of the top.
Junior Chance Gray led Ohio State scorers with 21 points. Gray was 8-for-16 from the field and 44.4% from beyond the three-point line. It seemed like every shot found the bottom of the net for Gray and the rest of the Buckeyes lineup.
Ball State has two more non-conference games on the schedule before Mid-American Conference (MAC) play starts. Outside of the loss tonight, the Cardinals have played well in every game, including their three other losses.
Ball State's next game comes on the road Dec. 15 at Northern Kentucky (2-8). Tip-off against the Norse is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Contact Logan Connor via email at logan.connor@bsu.edu or via X @_loganconnor
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