The Ball State Cardinals (8-2) picked up their first win of the season versus a Power 5 opponent in the Sun Coast Challenge, defeating the University of Pittsburgh by a score of 73-62.

A year ago, the Cardinals pulled out a two-point win in overtime at Pittsburgh. Tuesday afternoon, they took some punches from the Panthers (5-6) and pulled away at the end of the game for the win. 

Here are three takeaways from Ball State’s eighth win of the season. 

Settling in

In games against power five opponents this year, the Cardinals have struggled to get off to good starts. 

Against Notre Dame, Ball State was outscored 26-13 in the first quarter. They let up 37 points in the first period to UConn. Tuesday, it looked as though it was headed that way again. 

Thanks to five points from senior Gabby Hutcherson, the Panthers held a 7-0 lead with just a minute and a half gone by in the game. A 3-pointer by junior Ally Becki put the Cardinals on the board and started a 14-0 run. 

Junior Madelyn Bischoff was back in the lineup after missing just one game. She came into the contest fifth in the country in 3-point percentage and looked as though she didn’t miss a beat. 

Bischoff gave Ball State their first lead of the game with 7:39 left in the first quarter with her first 3-pointer. After Becki missed a 3-pointer of her own, the next two possessions consisted of her finding Bischoff on the right wing for a pair of 3-pointers, capping off the run. 

The Cardinals won the first quarter 21-19, a much better start compared to other games this year. 

A game of runs

The Panthers’ hot start followed by the Cardinals’ response wasn’t the only time that substantial runs were made by both teams. 

Late in the first quarter, Ball State led 19-11. After cutting that lead down to two by the end of the period, Pittsburgh continued to get stops and score on the other end. Eventually, they led 27-21 with seven minutes in the second quarter. 

Becki and Bischoff responded with five points each and the half finished with a 60-foot shot at the buzzer from senior Estel Puiggros to take a seven-point advantage into the locker room.

Ball State extended its lead to double digits for the first time in the game early in the third quarter after a turnaround jumper from junior Alex Richard. The Panthers came right back with an 8-0 run behind four points from senior Liatu King. She finished the game with a team-high  22 points.

The lead bumped back up to seven to end the third period. To start the fourth, sophomore Ana Barreto scored seven straight points for the Cardinals and got the lead back up to double digits. Ball State wouldn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the way.

Let the others beat you

King came into the game averaging 20.9 points per game for Pittsburgh. She was efficient on Tuesday, going 10-for-12 (83 percent) from the field. While King got her fair share of points, the Cardinals held everyone else in check. 

No other Panther scored more than 10 points. While King had her efficiency, everyone else shot 15-for-44 (34 percent) from the field combined. King didn’t attempt any 3-pointers, but her teammates didn’t help in that department either. As a team, they shot 5-for-18 (28 percent) from three. 

On the other side, Becki, Bischoff and Richard all scored in double digits. As a team, Ball State went 18-for-20 (90 percent) from the free throw line.

Ball State is now 1-2 in games versus Power 5 opponents. Thursday, they will try to bring that record to .500 against Georgia in the final day of the Sun Coast Challenge. The tip-off is scheduled for noon.

Contact Caleb Zuver via email at cmzuver@bsu.edu or on X @zuves35.

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