Dec. 10, 2004

Final Stats

St. Louis - Ball State forward Kate Endress converted a three-point play with 22.1 seconds left in the game as the visiting Cardinals held off a late Saint Louis rally 69-63. SLU led for the majority of the game but dropped its fourth straight game. The Billikens fall to 1-6, while Ball State improves to 3-4 on the season.

Ball State held a 60-56 lead with 3:56 to play when the Billikens rallied. Marquita McFarland converted off a cross-lane pass by Mia Johnson as the Bills scored to 60-58. The Billikens forced a miss by the Cardinals and moved into position to tie or take the lead. Johnson drove down the lane and kicked the ball out to Rachel Diener who drained a 3-pointer from the left side to push the Billikens to a 61-60 lead with 2:15 to play.

Ball State scored on consecutive trips to inch out to a 64-61 lead with a minute to play. McFarland was fouled and hit two free throws for SLU as the Bills cut the lead to 64-63 with 45 seconds to play. The Billikens were in position to make the defensive stop, but Endress hit a twisting five-foot leaner on the left side and hit the following free throw to complete the three-point play for a 67-63 lead. The Billikens were whistled for a turnover on their next possession, and Tina Bolte sank two free throws to seal the win for the Cardinals.

In the first half, the Billikens opened the game by hitting their first five shots and ran out to an 8-0 three minutes into the contest. Ball State eventually came back to tie the game at 15-15. Ball State led by two points, but the Billikens regained the lead. SLU went up 37-29 just before halftime and settled for a 37-33 lead at the break. The Billikens hit half of their 30 shots in the period, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range.

Mia Johnson scored 19 points and set a career high with 10 assists. Heather King scored 16 points, including 10 in the first half, and added a game-high nine rebounds. Kate Endress led three Ball State players in double figures with 20 points. The Billikens hit six treys in the game and out-rebounded Ball State by two, but they hurt themselves with 30 turnovers. Ball State was outstanding at the free throw line hitting 20 of 25 shots from the stripe.

The Billikens travel to Nashville, Tenn., for a 2 p.m. game on Sun., Dec. 12, against No. 11 Vanderbilt. The Bills next home game is Sat., Dec. 18, against Northern Illinois.