by The numbers speak for themselves.
Ball State women’s basketball recorded 30 assists in Sunday’s road game against Kent State. The Golden Flashes had 14. The Cardinals had more paint points (50-26), rebounds (41-30) and a better shooting percentage (52.1) than the home team (47).
After finalizing those statistics, Ball State defeated Kent State 101-91. It was the fourth time the Cardinals scored 100 points or more this season.
“It’s crazy … I thought we stepped up and just played a level better from start to finish,” Ball State head coach Brady Sallee said. “We controlled the game offensively, and we had an answer for everything that they did.”
But the game was not always in the Cardinals’ control. Despite never trailing in the contest, Ball State did not pull away from the Golden Flashes in the first half. The Cardinals shot 52.8 percent (19-for-37) in the first 20 minutes of play. At halftime, they only led Kent State 46-43.
Then, senior center Tessa Towers turned up the heat.
After scoring 11 points in the first half, she came alive in the third quarter as she dropped 10 points. She ended the game with a career-high 29 points and 11 rebounds.
“They couldn’t really do a whole lot with her, but I just thought she had great positioning all night,” Sallee said. “Our ball movement clearly was elite. We were able to pound it inside for a long time, and it was really good.”
Senior forward Bree Salenbien also had a double-double with 24 points and 10 assists. Sophomore Grace Kingery added 22 points, and she hit six of the Cardinals’ eight 3-point shots.
Behind those three, the Cardinals never looked back as they rolled to their ninth Mid-American Conference (MAC) victory of the season. Just two games ago, Ball State suffered its first league loss with a home defeat to No. 1 seed Miami.
Since that game, Sallee said that the team has kept its business as usual.
“We didn’t like it, but we didn’t change. We just understood how important every day and every possession had to be [important],” he said. “We put it in the backseat, and just had to go get the next one. Conference play is whether you win or lose, you have to go get the next one. That’s got to be a mentality.”
The Cardinals will try to make it three consecutive wins when they face Northern Illinois Tuesday, Feb. 4, at home. The opening tip is set for 6:30 p.m.
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu, zachcarter039@gmail.com or via X @ZachCarter85.
