Ball State women's basketball defeats Toledo in MAC Championship; final score, takeaways
Ball State women's basketball is going dancing.
The Cardinals (27-7) defeated Toledo, 65-58, in the MAC Championship on Saturday to punch their first ticket to March Madness since 2009.
As is to be expected in the tournament final, it was the closest, most intense matchup that Ball State faced in the tournament. The Cardinals struggled early on against the aggressive defense of the Rockets (24-8), but they overcame those struggles and pulled away in the fourth quarter.
It was a second-straight revenge game for Ball State, as Toledo handed the Cardinals their first MAC loss on Feb. 19. With wins over Kent State and Toledo in the semifinal and final, respectively, Ball State defeated the only two MAC teams it lost to during the regular season to claim the conference title.
Here are some more takeaways from Ball State's MAC Championship victory over Toledo:
Ball State women's basketball overcomes 3-point woes
It was far from the most efficient shooting performance for Ball State. The Cardinals went 0-of-6 on 3-pointers in the first half and finished just 3-of-12 overall from beyond the arc.
However, Ball State excelled in the post and in the midrange, finishing with 40 points in the paint. The aggressiveness on the inside also created opportunities at the free throw line, where the Cardinals shot 10-of-11 (90.9%) compared to just 3-of-5 for Toledo.
Alex Richard takes over
Ball State only scored 21 points and shot 38.5% from the field in the first half. With Toledo shooting the ball much better from distance and maintaining momentum with their defensive stops, the Cardinals needed someone to step up on offense.
That someone was senior forward Alex Richard, who has made a habit of coming through in those moments in recent weeks. Richard scored 24 of her 28 points in the second half and was the main reason Ball State was so dominant in the paint and midrange. She also had nine rebounds — five defensive and four offensive.
Turnovers galore
With the defensive aggressiveness on both sides, both the Cardinals and Rockets struggled to take care of the ball. Ball State finished with 17 turnovers, a mark it hit just three other times in MAC play. However, it still won the turnover battle by forcing 19 turnovers from Toledo. The Cardinals outscored the Rockets 16-12 on points off turnovers.
What's next for Ball State women's basketball?
Ball State is headed to the NCAA Women's Tournament for just the second time in school history. Ball State will wait to hear its name called on Selection Sunday, which will air live on ESPN Sunday, March 16 at 8 p.m. ET.
Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@muncie.gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State women's basketball wins MAC title; final score, takeaways
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