Ohio (4-15 overall, 2-7 Mid-American Conference) welcomed the class of the MAC in Ball State (16-4 overall, 9-0 MAC) to The Convo Wednesday night. With an 83-61 loss for Ohio, both teams showed why they are where they are in the MAC.
The Bobcats were coming off their second conference win of the season against the Eagles of Eastern Michigan when the ball tipped off, looking to earn another win and start their first win streak of the season. As for its opponent, Ball State has won 10 straight games and is currently undefeated in the MAC.
The two teams have had very different seasons up to this point, and it showed early as Ball State got out to a blistering 8-0 lead less than two minutes in. The first two shots that fell for Ball State were a pair of 3-pointers from Ally Becki and Madelyn Bischoff. The pair would combine to go 10-of-14 from beyond the arc while Becki scored 23 points to go with game-highs in assists in steals.
Ohio coach Bob Boldon answered the run with a timeout to help his team regroup and slow down the fast-paced Ball State offense. It also set them up with a few open looks, as seniors Anyssa Jones and Kate Dennis started the scoring early for Ohio.
While Ohio fought back midway through the quarter, Ball State went on a 7-0 run to close out the first frame of action, holding a comfortable 29-18 lead going into the second quarter.
That second quarter was where the game really got out of hand for Ohio, as Ball State continued its hot shooting from deep while Ohio went ice-cold shooting the ball. The numbers to end the half saw Ball State shooting above 50 percent from the floor and from deep in the first half, while Ohio made just two shots from the floor all quarter, both 3-pointers from Anyssa Jones.
The second quarter was capped by a 17-0 run from Ball State to close out the final 5:27 of the half. It seemed everything was going right for the Cardinals, while the Bobcats couldn’t catch a break.
“Certainly wish we would have done better in the first half,” Boldon said. “Given ourselves a better chance to win the basketball game (in the second half).”
Ohio outscored Ball State 35-30 in the second half. Even with a lot of those points coming late, as the game was essentially over due to the performance from Ball State in the first half, Ohio showed real resilience and improvement in the second half.
“The ball moved better,” Boldon said on the second-half improvement. The ball moving was probably the biggest difference. We were getting each other's way in the first half ... They had some clunky possessions, but I thought the second half was a lot more fluid.”
One of those players who contributed to the improved offense was Anyssa Jones, the fifth-year transfer from Dayton.
Jones had a career-and game-high in points with 25 and led the team in rebounds with nine on the night. She shot 9-16 from the floor and 4-5 from deep, giving Ohio a real spark of scoring when they needed it.
“I haven’t been having the season that I wanted for my last year, I think this game since (Ball State was at the) top of our conference my only mentality was just leaving everything I have on the court,” Jones said. “Playing hard for my team, because they’ve been playing hard for me all season.”
That hard play and improved offense will need to continue for Ohio to come out on top and earn a victory over rivals Miami (OH) on Saturday.