In a neck-to-neck game between the Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team and the Ball State Cardinals, the Eagles were defeated by a score of 54-51 at Worthen Arena.
The first half was a fight for the lead; though the Eagles started out on top, the Cardinals would come right back and tie up the score. But the Eagles were able to keep a tight lead against BSU thanks to Tavelyn James’ 16 points in the first half. Desyree Thomas and Olivia Fouty also pitched in some first-half points to put the Eagles up 29-22 at the half.
After half-time, the Eagles’ struggle to keep their heads above water was evident after BSU was able to cut down the lead. With a few minutes left to play, the Eagles began committing turnovers the Cardinals were able to score off of. Ball State was now able to take a 52-51 lead with the clock winding down.
With 00:38 left in the game the Cardinals’ Brandy Woody was able to sink a basket to create a three-point lead against the Eagles. With 00:14 to spare, the Eagles would have to try to tie the game with a three-pointer. However, the Eagles’ final shot did not go in, and BSU won the game 54-51.
James was the leading scorer for the Eagles with 20 points overall and India Hairston was able to pull down nine rebounds to go along with eight points. Thomas ended the game with eight points and four steals. Another thing that helped the Eagles hold onto the lead throughout most of the game was that in the first half, they were able to go to the foul line 17 times and gained 15 points in doing so.
The Eagles travel back home on Sunday, Jan. 8th to take on Northern Illinois at 2 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
