March 13, 2009
Final Stats
CLEVELAND - A strong first half from Ball State and a tough shooting afternoon for Miami resulted in a 76-51 win for the Cardinals over the RedHawks Friday afternoon in the Mid-American Conference quarterfinals. Miami finishes the season at 16-15, while Ball State improves to 23-8.
Rachael Hencke helped pace the RedHawks early on with six quick points, including a three-point play that put Miami down only 11-10 with 14:34 remaining in the first half. An 18-3 run by Ball State gave the Cardinals a 29-13 lead, but that run was broken up by back-to-back jumpers from Jaclyn Leininger and Ashley Hawkins.
The Cardinals were hitting their shots in the first half as they went on another 13-4 run to extend the lead to its largest at 42-21 with 2:53 remaining. The RedHawks did not give in and closed the half with seven straight points off jumpers from Jenna Schone and Leininger, as well as a three-point play by Erin Wisner to hit the locker room down 42-28.
Ball State hit 50 percent of their shots in the first half, including 6-for-12 from three-point range. The RedHawks hit 38 percent of their shots, led by Hencke and Leininger with seven points each.
The Cardinals opened up the second half on a 6-0 run to quickly push the lead back to 20 points. Miami had one last run in them as back-to-back threes (one conventional, one off a foul) by Courtney Reed and a basket from Schone led an 12-5 run that got Miami as close as 53-40, but Ball State followed with a 10-4 run that put the game out of reach.
Stephanie Ford led the RedHawks with 10 points and seven rebounds. Miami shot 32.8 percent for the game (19-for-58). Ball State outrebounded the RedHawks 40-37.
