MUNCIE, Ind.- Western Michigan (12-17, 9-6 MAC) couldn't find a way to stop Audrey McDonald, who knocked down a school record 9-of-12 from behind the arc, as Ball State topped WMU, 74-69, on Saturday. The loss knocks the Broncos out of a three-way tie for first place in the MAC West.
The Brown & Gold put up a good fight, and got as close as three after trailing by as many as 19 in the second half, but wasn't able to pull off the upset. The Broncos never led on the day.
Ball State (14-14, 10-5 MAC) shot the lights out in the first half, connecting on 54 percent of its field goals and downing six three pointers. The Cardinals jumped out to a 12-1 run in the first five minutes, forcing WMU to call a timeout. Audrey McDonald particularly had the hot hand, hitting five first half long balls, three which came in the first five minutes.
WMU trailed by 15 with 3:54 to go in the half, but a 10-0 run, sparked by back-to-back three's by Molly Dwyer cut the deficit to five. Ball State scored six straight points to end the period, taking a 38-27 lead into halftime.
The Cardinals stretched the lead to 19, 59-40, midway through the second half. A resilient Bronco squad wouldn't go roll over though and after being held scoreless in the first half, Tiera DeLaHoussaye got in the action scoring seven of the Broncos next eight points. A three-pointer by Dwyer cut the lead down to nine with 6:33 to play. The Broncos kept working away and brought the game to within six, 65-59, before the final media timeout.
McDonald came up with the answer for Ball State, as she had done throughout the day, sinking her ninth three of the game with 2:32 to go, pushing the lead back to nine. Western Michigan continued to claw its way back and pulled to within one possession, 70-67, on a Sara Vest bucket with 35 seconds to go. BSU and WMU traded free throws to make the score 72-69 with 26 ticks left, but that would be as close as the Broncos would get. The Cardinals made four of their final five free throws to seal the victory.
Vest led WMU with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Dwyer ended with 14, shooting 4-for-8 from long range. DeLaHoussaye finished with 13 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Brenna Banktson chipped in 12 points.
Ball State shot 47 percent on the afternoon and went 10-for-23 from beyond the arc (44 percent). Western Michigan stepped up its 29 percent shooting from the first half and finished at 37 percent. The Broncos won the battle on the boards, 41-37.
With the loss, Western Michigan falls to third in the MAC West with one game to go. Ball State and Eastern Michigan remain tied for first in the division, and should both teams win their final games, Ball State would take the title via tie-breaker procedure with two regular season wins over the Eagles.
The Brown & Gold takes on Toledo at home on Wednesday on Senior Day at 7 p.m., and will be looking to lock up the third seed in the MAC Tournament.
