Ball State women’s basketball used a late comeback and a game-winner from junior Ally Becki to capture the Sun Coast Challenge championship Thursday afternoon in New Port Richey, Fla.

Ball State picked up its second win versus a Power 5 opponent this season and defeated an NCAA tournament team from last year. Here are four takeaways from the victory.

Unable to finish quarters

In the first half, the game was played at two different paces. The first ten minutes were low scoring while the second period saw both teams score more efficiently. 

The Cardinals struggled to get good looks against the Bulldog defense in the first quarter. They shot seven 3-pointers with the only made one coming from junior Madelyn Bischoff. Overall, they went 3-for-12 (25 percent) from the field in the first quarter. 

Georgia also struggled as well in the first quarter. With 1:30 left, the game was tied at nine. Fifth-year Taniyah Thompson provided four quick points and Georgia added a free throw to pull ahead by five to end the quarter. 

In the second quarter, Ball State got a pair of threes from Bischoff and in total, five fast break points to jump start some of their offense. A free throw by Bischoff cut the deficit to 25-22 with 3:12 left.

The last three minutes were dominated by fifth-year Bulldog Javyn Nicholson. She scored seven straight points to end the quarter and extend the Georgia lead to 10 at the half.

The Cardinals hung with the Bulldogs for the majority of the first half but failed to close quarters efficiently, leading to a double-digit deficit they would have to overcome.

Missing pieces

Foul trouble, inefficiency and lack of production hurt the Cardinals' ability to put up points Thursday afternoon. 

Junior Nyla Hampton struggled to get good looks in Tuesday’s win against Pittsburgh. She shot just three times and converted on one of those attempts. The same thing happened against Georgia. While she filled the stat sheet with six rebounds, four assists and three steals, Hampton went 0-for-2 from the field.

Foul trouble has been a problem for junior Marie Kiefer so far this season. She’s averaging north of three fouls per game. Thursday, it was a problem once again. She picked up her third foul early in the third quarter and was subbed out immediately after. She came back into the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter but quickly picked up her fourth. Kiefer found herself off the floor in crucial minutes once again. In total, she played 19 minutes and went 0-for-2 from the field.  

After a 15-point performance Tuesday against Pittsburgh, junior Alex Richard couldn’t repeat the same production. She was 2-for-6 (33 percent) from the field for five points. In total, the starting trio went 2-for-10 (20 percent) from the field.

The comeback

The inability to close quarters and the inefficiency from key players allowed the Bulldogs to hold a lead for the third quarter and into the fourth. A Thompson layup put Georgia up by eight with 4:57 left in the game. Head coach Brady Sallee called a timeout. On the ensuing possession, a jumper by senior Annie Rauch started a 10-1 run to take the lead. 

Back-to-back threes by senior Estel Puigross and Becki cut the deficit to one and Rauch converted on a layup and a free throw capped off the run to give Ball State a two point lead with 1:49 left. The Bulldogs hit a free throw and scored on a layup to take the lead right back, setting up the final possession with 15 seconds left.

Becki didn’t give up the ball on the final possession. She crossed over and rose up for a jumper from the left elbow that hit the front of the rim and rolled in with two seconds left on the clock. Georgia’s half-court heave didn’t go, giving Ball State the win. 

Power 5 opponents in review

Thursday’s game was the last Power 5 opponent the Cardinals will face in the regular this year. They lost to Notre Dame and UConn, but found a way to beat Pitt and Georgia.

Sallee has said multiple times that he wanted to schedule these games to show the committee that they could compete with Power 5 teams. Even though the games against the Fighting Irish and Huskies weren’t close, there were still positive takeaways for the team.

Beating Pittsburgh for the second straight year and defeating a team in Georgia who made the second round of the tournament a year ago is something the Cardinals can carry all the way to selection day for the NCAA tournament, assuming they put up a good conference record. 

Ball State returns home to Worthen Arena for the first time in over a month Dec. 30. They face off against Oakland City with tip-off scheduled for 3 p.m.

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

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