MUNCIE, IN ? Toledo was limited to 33 percent shooting and suffered a 76-49 loss at Ball State in Worthen Arena. The setback was the sixth straight for the Rockets (10-14, 3-9 MAC).
“We just can't generate any offense right now,” said. UT Head Coach Mark Ehlen, whose team has been held under 50 points six times this season. “If a team goes on a little bit of a run, like Ball State did tonight, we have no answer for that.”
Senior Tamesha Scotton was the only UT player in double figures with 14 points. The next highest scorer for the Midnight Blue and Gold were senior Olivia Terry and sophomore Lisa Johnson with seven.
A total of five Ball State (11-14, 7-5 MAC) players finished in double digits for the victors, including a game-high 17 points and 12 caroms from Porchia Green. The Cardinals shot an impressive 55.2 percent (32-of-58) from the field and controlled the boards, 40-28. The home team also dominated the action on the interior and held a 44-18 edge in points in the paint.
BSU, which never trailed in the contest, jumped out to a 14-4 lead and forced UT into an early timeout at 14:41. The Cardinals hit six of their first seven shots from the floor and four starters found the scoring column to build the early cushion.
The Rockets seemed to gain their composure as the first half wore on and a triple by freshman Amber Heistan cut the deficit to 19-14 at 8:45.
Just when it looked like UT was getting itself back into the contest, BSU's Audrey McDonald buried a trey and Green quickly followed with a fast-break layup to again make it a double-digit game, 27-16, at 5:48.
Toledo pulled within nine points twice in the waning moments and trailed 41-27 at the intermission.
Neither team could find their rhythm to start the second half, until BSU's Kiley Jarrett made back-to-back treys to extend the lead to 52-35 with 13:02 remaining. UT was held to three field goals with three turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the stanza.
The Rockets just had no answers for the Cardinals and shot only 26.7 percent (8-of-30) from the field in the second half. Meanwhile, BSU seemed to be on cruise control and extended the lead to as many as 30 points.
The Rockets will now be off until Wednesday, Feb. 27 for its home season finale against Eastern Michigan. The opening tip is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Savage Hall. UT was originally scheduled to host NIU on Saturday, Feb. 23 as part of a doubleheader with the men's team, but that contest has been postponed due to the recent tragedy at Northern Illinois University. It is not known at this time if the game will be rescheduled.
