KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Ball State played spoiler on Western Michigan's senior day and home regular season finale, upending the Broncos, 79-73. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Broncos, who are fighting for positioning in the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Western Michigan (12-15, 8-8 MAC) trailed Ball State by two at halftime, 41-39, and was outscored by four in the second half.
“We clearly had a tough time defending them," said WMU head coach Shane Clipfell. "It's one thing if they're making contested shots on the perimeter, which they did in the first half. In the second half I was disappointed in our defense when we couldn't seem to stop them from driving to the basket."
WMU twice held a six-point lead in the second half but the Broncos suffered a big blow with just under nine minutes remaining. Sophomore forward Miracle Woods was whistled for her fourth personal and then picked up a technical on top of that, sending her to the bench with five fouls.
Following the technical, Ball State (12-15, 7-9 MAC) hit one of the two free throws to tie the game at 60 and went on to build a five-point advantage over the next five minutes. WMU fought back from the deficit to knot the score at 70 with 2:33 to go.
The Broncos missed their next three attempts from the floor while Ball State's Brandy Woody hit a free throw and Katie Murphy connected on a layup. Natalie Fontaine delivered the dagger for the Cardinals, finishing a layup-and-one with 37 seconds remaining, putting BSU up six.
Brittany Carter went 3-for-4 from the line for Ball State in the final 15 seconds and Julia Henson hit a three for Western Michigan.
"Fontaine had a heck of a game and we couldn't keep her under wraps," Clipfell said." She's a tough match-up for us regardless. Offensively we played good enough to win, but defensively it was quite the opposite.”
Both teams placed four players in double figures. Fontaine scored a game-high 23 points and Woody turned in 11 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the Cardinals. Shelbie Justice hit three of her team's seven 3-pointers and finished with 15 points.
Marquisha Harris led Western Michigan with 16 points. Henson knocked down four triples for 12 points and Woods had 12 as well before fouling out. Sophomore point guard Alex Morton had 10 points and six assists.
Western Michigan shot 41.7 percent in the game, while Ball State hit 51.9 percent.
The Broncos close out the regular season with a road game at Central Michigan next Wednesday and a trip to Northern Illinois next Saturday. Western Michigan is battling for first round home-court advantage in the MAC Tournament, or with help of upsets in the remaining games around the league, the possibility of a first round bye and a direct ticket to Cleveland.
