MUNCIE, Ind. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team fell to Ball State, 68-65, on the road at Worthen Arena on Saturday, Feb. 1.
Chelayne Bailey led the Broncos with a career-high 18 points, capped off by 8-of-14 shooting and two assists.
Leighah-Amori Wool tallied 15 points and three rebounds with a team-high three assists, while
Jordan Walker had 14 points with seven rebounds.
Breanna Mobley was one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 15 rebounds. Mobley reached the milestone of 1,000 rebounds to go along with 1,000 career points in the first quarter of today's game. She is the second Bronco to earn this achievement, joining Pat Charity ('78).
The Broncos, now 11-8 and an even 4-4 in conference play, struggled from the field, shooting just 40 percent (21-for-52) and 25 percent (5-for-20) from three. The Brown & Gold held the advantage in free throw shooting with 75 percent (18-of-24) accuracy. Despite WMU putting up 32 points in the paint and out-rebounding the Cardinals 35-34, Ball State was able to outscore Western Michigan from the field, shooting 42.9 percent (24-for-56) and earning 17 points off WMU turnovers.
WMU opened the first quarter with a three from Walker and points at the line by Wool to take an early lead. The Cardinals came back with a 12-4 run off three three-pointers, but the Broncos maintained a narrow lead thanks to a shot from beyond the arc by Wool to close out the quarter. Western Michigan had its best stretch of shooting in the first frame, going 7-for-13 (53.8 percent) from the field.
The Cardinals had a stronger start in the second quarter, outscoring the Broncos 18-12 despite a shot clock-beating three by Bailey and strong efforts from Wool and Walker to open the frame. The lead changed seven times before the halftime break, with Ball State ultimately holding on to a five-point advantage with a deep three by Estel Puiggros as the buzzer sounded.
With a strong defense and four straight points from Bailey on her way to double-digit scoring, the Broncos were able to cut into their opponent's lead early on in the quarter. But the Cardinals pushed back as the quarter played out, ending up with a 13-0 run capped off by back-to-back threes to claim an 11-point lead en route to the final frame.
WMU brought the battle back in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Cardinals 22-14, but ultimately being unable to pull off the comeback. Walker and Bailey strung together a pair of threes and Wool sank two free throws to give the Broncos their longest scoring run of the contest. Western Michigan came within two points of Ball State with 3:46 left to play, but their fate was sealed when Estel Puiggros hit another clutch three-point shot to extend the home team's lead and close out the game with a 68-65 victory.
The Broncos have a quick turnaround as they face Miami (OH) on Monday, February 3 in Oxford, Ohio. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
