Head coach Brady Sallee said he would argue that Eastern Michigan played better, played harder and played tougher against the Ball State women’s basketball team.
But Ball State had the better players.
“Everybody falls in love with X's and O's. It's a game of Jimmies and Joes, not X's and O's. We had better Jimmy and Joes today,” Sallee said.
The Cardinals Jimmies and Joes lifted Ball State (20-5, 12-0 MAC) to a 74-69 win over the Eagles (1-22, 0-12).
After the first quarter, Ball State was down 19-12, and the Cardinals' second-half run only tied things up 32-32 heading into halftime.
Eastern led as much as seven in the third quarter and Ball State had to climb back to take a two-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Even after a 9-2 run to start the fourth, Eastern Michigan clawed itself back to make it a two-possession ballgame.
Sallee said the Cardinals were not out of sorts with Eastern Michigan fighting for a full 40 minutes, they are used to it. He said Ball State faced some adversity well and lacked in other spots, giving the Eagles life.
“You got to learn from that. You can't allow a team [to have] nine lives, so to speak,” Sallee said. “We certainly did today, and all the credit to Eastern [Michigan].”
Sallee said the MAC Tournament is a short window, and three games are not a lot, but in his experience, there will be a "clunker" of a game in that window somewhere. He said figuring out a way to win when you are not playing well and another team is lights out is what February-March basketball is.
“We at times let the adversity bring the best out of us, and at times, we let the adversity turn us into something we don't want to be,” Sallee said. “...You got to stay on track in a game like that because you just got to see the big picture. You got to win.”
The Cardinals were 20-for-24 from the charity stripe and Ball State hit free throws to put the game on ice late in the fourth quarter. Sallee said it is a strength of Ball State and confidence is high.
Sallee said senior Ally Becki gets a lot of media attention, and it is deserved because of how special a player she is. However, the Cardinals have multiple players in double figures every night. The head coach said Ball State has six or seven players that could be a headline on many teams, making the Cardinals tough to guard.
Seniors Alex Richard and Madelyn Bischoff are a few of the potential headliners, and both were in double figures. Richard finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. Bischoff had 16 points on 4-for-9 shooting from deep. Becki had a game-high 20 points with five assists.
Another key player for Ball State is routine starter, graduate student Elise Stuck, but her last game in action was Jan. 11 against Buffalo.
Sallee said Stuck is now counting the days to her comeback instead of weeks. He said it could be as soon as Wednesday against Toledo or even the week following. Regardless of when Stuck returns, Sallee ensures she will be 100% healthy to get the green light.
Ball State will face two of its biggest rivals in the week ahead. The Cardinals will travel to Toledo Feb. 19 and then face Kent State Feb. 22 at home for a nationally televised game on ESPNU. Sallee said all of Ball State’s energy will be spent on focusing on getting better.
“I don't want these kids to get so caught up in, ‘Well, we're 12-0, or we're this in the league, or we're blah, blah, blah, blah.' Man, when that ball goes up, let's go ball, let's have fun,” Sallee said.
Contact Elijah Poe via email at elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X @ElijahPoe4.
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