Ball State women's basketball season ends in 79-62 WNIT 2nd round loss at Memphis

MUNCIE, Ind. — Cardinals basketball has officially entered the offseason.

Ball State women's basketball's memorable 2022-23 campaign ended Monday in its 79-62 Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) second-round loss at Memphis. BSU finished the year 26-9, tied for the program's single-season record for wins.

The evening also concluded the Cardinal careers of redshirt senior Anna Clephane and graduate student Thelma Dis Agustsdottir. Dis Agustsdottir added one last line to her resume during the contest by becoming BSU's career leader in made 3-pointers (325), surpassing current associate head coach Audrey Spencer.

Clephane and Dis Agustsdottir were Ball State's top scorers this season and led the group with 15 and 11 points, respectively, against the Tigers.

"I tried to talk to them about what a special year they had, and not just because of the amount of wins and the route they took us all on, but it's because of people they are," Sallee said of his postgame locker room message. "I think it's easy to root for a group like this when they play as hard as they do.

"It'll forever be one of those teams that I think a lot of people will remember. The way this group played with for the name across the front of their chest was awfully special. That's really what I centered on. And, clearly, talked about Anna and Thelma a little bit, then onto the airplane."

First round:Ball State women's basketball tops Belmont 101-86 to advance in WNIT

Two significant disadvantages proved to be BSU's downfall against Memphis, the first being its 20-0 deficit to start the game. Ball State was a slow-starting squad all season, but on the road against one of the best defenses it faced all year, trailing by so much so early was especially difficult to overcome.

The poor beginning wasn't primarily the result of one side dominating the other — both teams generated similar quality shots and weren't overly sloppy with ball possession — but mostly because the Tigers simply made seven of their first eight shots while the Cardinals missed their first nine.

Memphis' success from behind the arc, in particular, vaulted the team ahead. The Tigers have shot barley above 30% from deep this season yet made four of their first five long-range attempts, most of which were well contested.

Senior Annie Rauch's layup at the 4:15-minute mark of the first frame broke the seal for Ball State, after which the team flipped momentum and forced Memphis to miss even of its next nine field goal attempts. BSU trailed 26-10 following the first quarter but carried its late rhythm into the second where the Cardinals, as they tend to do, exploded for an offensive barrage and won the frame 22-13.

The team narrowed its deficit to as few as four points, 46-42, four minutes into the third quarter, but the two sides went back-and-forth out of the locker room and finished the third frame even, 21-21. Ball State then appeared to run out of steam in the final period, going scoreless for a four-minute stretch while the Tigers regained their long-range stroke and pulled away.

"Clearly, they came out and socked us square in the mouth. We couldn't make a shot, they were making them all. I think at that point, we had a choice, and we've made that choice all year long. We battled, we got ourselves into a position where we had a chance," Sallee said. "The (fourth) quarter starts off with the possession from hell. I think we picked up three fouls and they got offensive rebounds and hustle plays, and it just kind of felt like that set the tone for their big fourth quarter. They came out and were just gonna amp it up, just physically from a toughness standpoint, and we couldn't quite match that intensity."

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Memphis was stronger inside all game, leading to BSU's second significant disadvantage: rebounding. The Cardinals lost the battle of the boards 44-20, including 12 offensive rebounds by the Tigers that led to 19 second-chance points.

Ball State didn't corral an offensive board until late in the fourth quarter.

BSU won the turnover margin 14-8, so had it performed better on the glass, perhaps the Cardinals would've had a fighting chance near the end. Sallee tried some different lineups, including a rare one with Rauch and sophomore Marie Kiefer on the court together, as well as a zone defense to combat Memphis' interior dominance, but no solution was ever found.

"I thought we were gonna have to go with that (Rauch-Kiefer) lineup, but when we got behind, now the feeling was, 'Well, we've got to score the ball. We've got to hit some 3s to get back into this thing,' so that's a little bit tougher lineup to do that with," Sallee said. "Maybe it could have helped the rebounding a little bit, but I'll be honest with you, I don't know that Memphis was gonna let us do anything on the boards tonight. They're one of the best rebounding teams in the country for a reason and they showed it."

Sophomore Ally Becki, Madelyn Bischoff and Alex Richard all didn't have their best outings either, combining to shoot 6-for-24 from the field.

Sallee thinks his talented sophomore class will learn from this year's experiences, particularly the highs and lows of the past month as Ball State competed for a regular-season title, a conference championship and WNIT glory.

Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on Twitter @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State women's basketball 79-62 WNIT 2nd round loss at Memphis