The women’s basketball team (5-10,0-2 MAC) was handed a 51-57 loss in a physical match against the Ball State Cardinals (5-10,2-0 MAC) at the Convocation Center on Sunday.

The Huskies got off to a slow start with three turnovers in the early minutes of the game ,but a quick timeout by NIU coach Kathi Bennett got the team back on track and set the tone for a game that had six ties along with eight lead changes.

Junior guard Ashley Sneed dove on a loose ball and called timeout to retain the Huskies’ possession with 13.1 seconds left in the first half. Her effort led to two foul shots for senior forward/guard Satavia Taylor, giving NIU the opportunity to tie the game 27-27.

Ball State came out of halftime with a 9-5 run, and despite a perfect shooting performance by Taylor in the first half, the Huskies were unable to get into an offensive rhythm and get past the aggressive Cardinal defense.

Taylor finished with 24 points but struggled to get shot opportunities late in the second half. She credited her hot hand to her teammates.

“I felt it a couple of times, but the majority is just seeing what [shot] is available,” Taylor said. “It’s just working at it at practice and having teammates shooting with me after practice and, you know, just my teammates hooking me up.”

Sophomore guard Amanda Corral also helped keep the Huskies in the game, but struggled to find a way to penetrate the Cardinals’ defense. Despite seven turnovers, Corral had 15 points and played aggressive defense to help the Huskies force 18 Cardinal turnovers.

“I was trying to give a lot of energy,” Corral said. “I could tell a couple of the girls were telegraphing their passes so I just tried to get my hand down and make something happen.”

Led by freshman guard Nathalie Fontaine’s 18 points, Ball State showed that its offensive strategy was to score inside. Despite defensive adjustments by NIU, the Cardinals were able to outscore the Huskies 28-8 in the paint.

Fontaine, along with junior forward Katie Murphy’s 14 points, proved to be too much for the Huskies in the second half.

Bennett held her team accountable for what was a close game, considering the offensive struggles and difficulty controlling the tempo.

“It’s hard when you have three assists to 25 turnovers; you know, we beat ourselves,” Bennett said. “We’ve got to do a better job taking care of the ball.”

Ball State was able to amass 21 points off turnovers along with 6 fast break points.

Sunday’s loss is NIU’s 3rd straight since facing Norfolk State on Dec. 29.