MUNCIE, Ind.- Western Michigan outscored Ball State by six in the second half and placed three players in double figures, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 13-point halftime deficit, falling on the road Tuesday, 67-60.

Ball State shot a scorching 66.7 percent in the first half and dominated the Broncos on the glass, 21-12, to build a 37-24 advantage at intermission. WMU had trouble getting out of the gates, hitting just one of its first nine over the first six and a half minutes.

The Cardinals continued their hot shooting, extending their lead to as many as 21, 51-30, with 12:30 remaining. Western Michigan pulled itself back into the game going on a 19-5 run over the next six minutes. Taylor Manley was the offensive motor during the run, knocking down two three's and scoring 12 of the 19 points. A pair of free throws by DeAirra Goss brought the Broncos to within seven, 56-49, at the 6:40 mark.

WMU continued to hang around and down eight with under two to go, was able to get to within three. Manley knocked down her third three of the game at 1:33 and WMU stepped up the full court pressure, forcing a turnover on the next Cardinal possession. Cleary finished a putback after the steal, cutting the count to 63-60 with 57.3 seconds on the clock. BSU's Emily Maggert drew a foul and sunk both free throws on the other end to push the lead back to five and Ty'Rhonda Benning hit two more free throws with one second left to secure the win.

Benning had a career night for Ball State, hitting six three's and scoring 33 of the Cardinals' 67 points. She also had a team-best seven rebounds. Maggert finished with 10 points.

Manley led all Bronco scorers with 19 points, while Goss scored a season-best 13 and Cleary chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.

WMU played without its top two defensive players late in the second half. Maria Iaquaniello (team-high nine rebounds) suffered a cut above the eye and had to leave the game with 6:36 remaining. Goss fouled out with 1:46 left.

Ball State shot 56.1 percent for the game and held WMU to 35.4 percent shooting. The Broncos also struggled at the line, making just 9-of-19 free throw attempts.

WMU slips to 4-12 overall, 0-3 in the MAC, while BSU improved to 6-10, 1-2 MAC. It was the conference home-opener for the Cardinals and WMU's first on the road.

Western Michigan travels to DeKalb Saturday for a 3 p.m. ET tip-off against Northern Illinois.