The Ball State women’s basketball team defeated Bowling Green 71-51 Wednesday night in Worthen Arena marking it the program’s best start in Mid-American Conference play with an 11-0 record.
With the win, the Cardinals improved to 19-4 on the season while extending their win streak to 13. The Falcons fall to 11-11 overall and 5-6 in league play.
Both teams chopped at each other’s heels at the start of the contest. The Cardinals had a slight upper hand over the Falcons the majority of the first frame. Ally Becki put on quite the show in the first quarter, scoring eight points to give BSU the 19-11 edge over BGSU.
Ball State was able to capitalize on some defensive rebounds which allowed both Becki and Madelyn Bischoff to find comfort in making their long-range shots. Bischoff nailed one from behind the arc at the 5:03 mark in the second frame to put the Cardinals up by nine (27-18). The end of the first half was highlighted by some strong defensive plays which led to the Cardinals building an 18-point (39-20) cushion over the Falcons at intermission.
After the break, the Falcons opened the third period with a 4-0 run but the Cardinals weren’t fazed as Alex Richard collected another rebound and a layup to put BSU back up by 20 (48-28). Ball State continued to play scrappy, and its defense intensified, causing Bowling Green miscues that allowed the Cardinals to keep a double-digit lead in the third and fourth frames.
In the final stanza, the Cardinals made it nearly impossible for the Falcons to make any kind of a comeback. Ball State went on to win the game by 20 points.
Bischoff led all scorers with 20 points after going 6-of-10 from 3-point range. It was another game of double doubles, as Becki scored 17 points while dishing out 10 assists. Richard also turned in a 17-point performance and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Maliyah “MJ” Johnson came off the bench tallying 10 points.
For the game, Ball State out-rebounded Bowling Green 47-31 while shooting 52 percent from behind the arc.
The Ball State women’s basketball team begins a three-game road swing Saturday when it plays at James Madison for its second game of the MAC-SBC Challenge. The contest is slated to begin at 2 pm ET.
