CLEVELAND — For the second time in four years, the Ball State Cardinals are competing for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship. The Cardinals fought in an incredible game against Kent State, coming out on top 70-53.

Here are three takeaways.

Big first quarter sets the tone

Ball State came out of the gates with a different kind of focus and the energy could be felt from up in the media seating balcony.

The first quarter was all Cardinals, with Kent State knocking down just three buckets. The Cardinal offense was dropping shots left and right, the bigs were grabbing boards and the ball was moving around on offense seamlessly.

Kent State came out in a zone on the first set, but Madelyn Bischoff hit a three-ball that quickly got the Golden Flashes out of it. From then on, the Kent State defense went man-to-man

In the opening frame, Ally Becki had eight points on 3-for-3 shooting and two three-balls. Lachelle Austin was 2-for-5 and hit a step-back trey as well. Madelyn Bischoff picked up where she left off Wednesday with an opening possession three to get the Cardinal faithful on their feet.

Ball State was an impressive 7-for-13 as a team from the field and 4-for-8 from deep, which is one of its best numbers of the season. The Cardinals knocked down both of their free throws, and played clean on their defensive end, not sending a Golden Flash to the line for free throws.

The Cardinals held a slight advantage in rebounds, at 10 to 6. NINE of Ball State’s rebounds came on the defensive end of the floor, allowing zero Kent State second-chance points.

The energy — and 12-point lead — was enough to propel the Cardinals to victory. Ball State led for the entire game and Kent State did not hold a single lead. It was early, but it seemed like the Golden Flashes were already far too out of it to come back, and they were.

Cardinals defense controls the contest

From the opening tip, the Ball State defense was STIFLING. From watching them all season, it was visibly the hardest defense the Cardinals have played all season.

At the first timeout, Kent State had three points and was 1-for-6 from the field. Six minutes passed, and the Golden Flashes hit just one bucket. The defense was aggressive, and the double teams came down to the Kent State bigs at the right time.

The presence of MAC Defensive Player of the Year Marie Kiefer was felt. She had two steals and her length created difficult shots. The in-your-face style of the guards created opportunity and forced Kent State mistakes.

Kent State still scored its fair share of points, but the Cardinals forced them late into the shot clock and made them take unwanted shots. Pairing the aggressive guard play, active hands and paint length, Ball State was able to take advantage of their defense with 22 points off turnover.

Becki held Kent State's fourth-leading scorer Dionna Gray, who was 0-for-4 from the field in the first, with incredible defense throughout the game. Gray finished with four points and was 2-for-11 from the field.

The defense was dominating all game and held the MAC’s second-ranked offense — averaging 73.7 points per game — to 53 points.

Kent State is second in the MAC in three-point percentage at 36.1 percent, and it shot 23.5 percent today. The Golden Flashes lead the conference in threes per game at nearly eight, but the Cardinals limited them to four.

Kent State scored just six points off turnovers and did not have a single fast break point, Ball State had 13. Five Cardinals poked at least two balls loose from the Kent State offense.

When Kent State’s shooters had Ball State guards with hands in their faces, they had to find their bigs. When the ball got down low, the Cardinal bigs stuffed them and double teams came. It was seriously impressive to see the defense come together as well as it did.

Lachelle Austin steps up to the stage

The Eastern Michigan transfer has had her struggles over the last month. Since Feb. 5, Austin has been in double digits four times, and has not been able to score in games against Western Michigan and Bowling Green.

She started the MAC slate averaging almost 13 points per game, but sizzled off to 10.0 heading into the tournament. She had been dishing out the ball well and was still playing extremely strong defense.

Against Western Michigan two days ago, Austin shot 3-for-11 from the field and 1-for-6 from deep for seven points. But in the semifinals, she came out on fire.

She shot 8-for-11 from the field and knocked down four deep balls. She scored 21 points today and added two assists, three rebounds and two steals. She was six points off her career high of 27, she scored at Eastern Michigan. 

Her performance brought some of the spotlight and pressure off of Becki and she required just as much attention on defense. Austin putting an incredible game together was a sight to see, and she has deserved it. She reached 1,000 career points earlier this season and her total points today was a Ball State career high.

Ball State will play the winner of Toledo and Buffalo March 15 at 11 a.m. for the MAC Tournament title. The game will be broadcasted on national television on CBS Sports Network.

Contact Logan Connor via email at logan.connor@bsu.edu or via X @_loganconnor.

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