(BALL STATE RELEASE)
ATHENS, Ohio - Redshirt sophomore Anna Clephane led the Cardinals charge with a career best 24-points. Clephane made some key baskets at some crucial times to give Ball State the 88-85 overtime road win at Ohio Wednesday night in the Convocation Center.
The Cardinals (5-5, 3-3 MAC) victory tonight snapped an eight-game losing streak against Ohio (5-4, 3-3 MAC) marking it the first time since the 2013-14 season that Ball State had defeated the Bobcats on their home court.
"Really proud of this team tonight," Ball State head coach Brady Sallee said. "We showed tremendous toughness and it paid off. We have a ton of respect for Ohio University and because of that we know how big this win was for us tonight."
Rebounds were the name of this game, Ball State out-rebounded Ohio +20 (51-31) with senior forward Oshlynn Brown leading the charge with a personal best 19 rebounds, including 15 defensive boards.
Brown also was the second highest scorer on the team with 21 points. She now has 911 rebounds for her career, 1,184 points and 38 double-doubles.
Ball State held Ohio to its third lowest shooting percentage of the season 39 percent (30-77) while the Cardinals had their second-best performance from the floor with a staggering 51 percent (30-59).
It was one of the most competitive performances of the season as both teams were neck and neck throughout the entire 45 minutes of action, with seven ties and 16 lead changes you knew the game was going to come down to the wire.
The Cardinals had a chance to end the game in regulation, but Clephane lost control of the ball which gave the Bobcats back the possession with .07 seconds on the clock. Ohio then turned the ball over immediately after the timeout to give Ball State another opportunity to seal the victory.
Unfortunately, junior Thelma Dis Agustsdottir missed the 3-pointer despite hitting three from behind the arc earlier in the night. She missed the outside deep corner shot as time expired which sent the game into overtime. Agustsdottir would end the contest with 13 points.
In the extra period, Brown scored first for Ball State, but by no surprise Ohio would quickly answer on their next possession.
Clephane then made a layup in the paint that would allow Ball State to hold onto a one-point (85-84) edge for almost two minutes before Ohio knotted the contest (85-85) for the last time at the 1:10 mark.
After that, Sophomore Sydney Freeman who ended the night with 16 points, hit three clutch free throws to put Ball State back up (88-85) with 10 seconds remaining.
Ohio's Kaylee Bambule attempted a jump shot but missed it. Brown would then seal the OT win with the defensive rebound as time expired.
It was the Cardinals strong first quarter that paved the way to tonight's victory outscoring Ohio, 20-15 while holding the Bobcats to 22 percent (5-22) from the field.
Ohio came back in the second and third frames to take the 64-57 advantage over Ball State heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
Ball State would then close out the game outscoring Ohio, 31-21, allowing the Cardinals to remain in the driver seat the rest of the way.
The Ball State women's basketball team returns home Saturday as the Cardinals host Buffalo at 5 p.m. ET in Worthen Arena.
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