CLEVELAND, Ohio- Western Michigan's Mid-American Conference Tournament run came to an end Tuesday afternoon, as the Broncos fell to Ball State, 56-53, in the second round at Quicken Loans Arena. WMU had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but the attempt went long.
Western Michigan led at three different times on the afternoon, but never by more than two points, as the Broncos spent most of the day nipping at the Cardinals' heels.
A two-point game, 54-52, in Ball State's favor with 3:43 remaining, WMU had other chances to take the lead in the final minutes, but could never get the go-ahead basket to fall. The Broncos were unable to connect on two contested lay ups, but were able to pull within one point with 49 seconds left when Molly Dwyer hit the second of two free throws.
Ball State missed its first attempt on the onsueing possession, corralled the rebound and missed a second attempt. In a fight for the rebound, Dwyer was whistled for a foul. Julie DeMuth sank both free throws to give Ball State a three-point lead, 56-53, with 16 seconds remaining.
WMU raced down the court, and after a BSU foul and two Bronco timeouts, a last-second three was set up for Carrie Moore. Moore was able to get off a clean look from the right side of the arc, but it was just a hair long and came off the back iron.
“This was just a hard fought game on both ends,” WMU head coach Ron Stewart said. “I am very proud of our kids' efforts and how we played in the tournament.”
Although she was held scoreless in the first 12 minutes of the game, Moore had dialed it up on both ends of the floor and led the Broncos with 19 points, 10 coming in the second half. Sara Vest also stepped up her game, totaling 10 points and nine rebounds while Tiera DeLaHoussaye had 11 points and eight boards. Lindsey Brown tallied eight points and 12 rebounds.
The Broncos unfortunately were plagued by 18 turnovers, and had a hard time slowing Ball State's Julie DeMuth, who had game highs of 25 points and 16 rebounds.
Western Michigan trailed by three points at intermission, 29-26. The Broncos shot 35 percent from the field, while Ball State connected on 34 percent. Having won the regular-season division title, Ball State entered the game as the number one West seed. The Broncos were seeded fifth and conclude the season with a 14-18 record.
