Becki Scores Career High 19 Points In WBB’s Win Over MAC Rival Miami
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State women’s basketball earned a 67-64 win over its Mid-American Conference rival Miami Monday night in Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals (10-7, 3-4 MAC) managed to get the job done against the RedHawks (6-9, 2-4 MAC) despite having a limited number of players due to safety and health protocols.
“I am excited for the kids today,” said Ball State Head Coach Brady Sallee. “We woke up this morning to all of our cell phones dinging. We had do go over all the protocols and we figured out quick we were going to be down in numbers today. We went from going to bed last night to having the healthiest roster that we have had, to waking up to having eight just like that. Sallee said that may have caused the team to start the game off a little out of sorts and off kilter tonight, but he was proud that the team was able to circle those wagons and understood there was a job to do.”
It was a cold snowy day in Muncie which was also probably one of the contributing factors in tonight’s slow start between the Cardinals and the RedHawks.
Both teams struggled throughout the first quarter. It was not until the 3:14 mark when Ball State freshman Ally Becki knocked down one from behind the arc which entail sparked the Cardinals offense. Ball State would close the first quarter of action with a 10-4 run to give the Cardinals a 21-17 edge over the RedHawks.
Ball State carried its momentum into the second quarter clicking on all cylinders from the court offensively and defensively. The Cardinals outscored the RedHawks 17-7 in the second frame building a 15-point (39-24) cushion over Miami at intermission.
At the half, Becki had already scored 12 points after shooting over 83 percent from the field (5-of-6) and a perfect 2-of-2 from the 3-point line. Another statistic that jumped off the page at the half was the Cardinals’ defensive play forcing 15 Miami turnovers which BSU turned in to 13 points.
The Cardinals had hit cruise control in the third stanza allowing Ball State to build its largest lead of the contest (49-31) at the 3:47 mark.
But with any Mid-American Conference rivalry game the game it is not over until it was over, and Miami proved that to be true towards the end of the third period.
The RedHawks started to turn up of their defense in the fourth causing the Cardinals to make some unforeseen errors. Miami started getting its shots to fall and would cut Ball State’s once 18-point deficit to five (55-50) with just under three minutes left to play.
After that, the contest continued to get a little too close for comfort but with 50 seconds left junior Annie Rauch was fouled on a rebound and was sent to the line. Rauch would then go 2-for-2 from the charity stripe which would put the Cardinals back up 63-58. On Miami’s ensuing possession Rauch came up big again with the defensive board.
Miami would be then forced to foul Ball State in its final efforts to win the ball game and came to within three, but Ball State was able to stay atop of Miami and claim tonight’s victory.
Becki scored a career best 19 points while graduate senior Chyna Latimer earned her first double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Rauch rounded out the double-digit scoring finishing the night with 11.
The Ball State women’s basketball team will head to Buffalo on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. ET tipoff in Alumni Arena.
