by Cleveland, OH; We come bright and early Friday morning to kick off the MAC Semifinals, with the Women’s up first. The first match-up on the day will feature the 1st seeded Ball State Cardinals and the 4th seeded Kent State Golden Flashes.
The Cardinals come into the day at 25-7 on the season, while the Golden Flashes come in at 21-10 on the season.
Ball State was led by senior guad Lachelle Austin who put up 21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Senior forward Ally Becki followed up with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and a block as she put on one heck of a display.
While Kent State was led by senior forward Jenna Batsch who had 14 points, 1 rebound, and 3 assists.
The game started off with both teams exchanging threes, but after that both teams just fell flat for a few minutes.
That was until Ball State went on a little 4-0 run to take a 7-3 lead. The Cardinals defense was locked in to start, holding Kent State to a 1-for-7 start from the field.
Unfortunately for the Golden Flashes, Ball State stayed hot to end the first quarter. They managed to go on a 13-5 run the rest of the way and take a 20-8 lead heading into the second quarter.
If Kent State wanted to get back in the game, they would have to improve their 23% shooting percentage from the first quarter.
Outside of Batsch who scored 8 of Kent State’s first 16 points, no one else was able to really find a groove in the first half for the Golden Flashes.
Halfway through the second quarter, they still found themselves down 16-28. They started to find their shots, but could not get as many stops as they wanted at this point.
Kent State would finally go on a 10-6 run to end the half, cutting their deficit down to 26-34 by time halftime rolled around. Batsch finished things off with a layup to give her 10 points in the first half alone.
The Golden Flashes definitely turned things around shooting wise, as they shot 67% in the second quarter.
Both teams came out of the half scorching hot from the field. Kent State was shooting 50% including 2-for-4 from three. While Ball State was shooting 71% and had just one three to start the second half.
With 4:45 left in the third quarter, Ball State still maintained their lead at 46-36.
Well that lead would get even bigger followed by a 12-4 run to end the quarter as it began to seem like Kent State was in trouble. After three, Ball State led 58-40.
The Golden Flashes did come out on a 5-2 run to start the fourth quarter, but with 6:50 left to play and down 15, there was plenty of work left to do.
Unfortunately that was the last true fight Kent State had to offer. Ball State closed out the game going on a 10-8 run as it was just too much of a deficit for the Golden Flashes to cone back from.
The Cardinals finished it off for the 70-53 win. They advance to tomorrow morning’s championship game where they will take on the winner of Toledo and Buffalo.
