KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Behind junior Annie Rauch's career-best 22 points the Ball State women's basketball team managed to complete the two-game series sweep with a 64-56 victory at Western Michigan Wednesday night in University Arena.
The Cardinals (16-10, 9-7 MAC) performed at a high intensity level yet again over the Broncos (14-12, 8-9 MAC), especially in the second half as Ball State shot over 50 percent from the field in both the third and fourth quarters.
Much like the other night against the Broncos, Ball State was able to outrebound Western Michigan for the second-straight contest, 45-32.
Rauch played out of her mind leading the Cardinals with 22 points off a perfect 10-for-10 from the field. Not far behind Rauch was junior Sydney Freeman who chipped in 18 points. Defensively, freshman Ally Becki led Ball State with nine rebounds, and she also dished out five assists.
The game was neck and neck throughout the first three quarters of play with seven ties and 12 lead changes. Much like the other night when these two teams met, it was pretty much all Ball State regardless of how close the score might have been.
The Cardinals led almost the entire game for 30:40 to be exact out of the 40 minutes of play. It was not until the fourth quarter that the Cardinals were able to pull away from the Broncos.
Ball State outscored Western Michigan 25-19 which ultimately led to the Cardinals victory tonight along with key baskets from Rauch and Freeman.
The twosome kept BSU in control when it mattered, as did their teammates, to lift BSU past WMU in a time where wins are crucial heading into eventual Mid-American Conference Tournament play which begins exactly two weeks from today on March 9 in Cleveland.
The Ball State women's basketball team returns home Saturday when it hosts Northern Illinois at 1 p.m. ET in Worthen Arena. The Cardinals game day sponsor against the Huskies is LifeStream Services. It will also be Ball State's annual "Think Pink" game where fans are encouraged to wear pink for breast cancer awareness.
Fans can purchase tickets to the game by calling the Stoops Buick/GMC Ticket Center at 888.BSU.TICKET or 765.285.1474 to join the Cardinal Family inside Worthen Arena! Season and group tickets are also on sale now, while single game tickets are also available online at Ticketmaster.com.
