Kent State scored the first basket of the game, but Ball State responded with a 22-5 run, and the Flashes never made it a game as they saw their season end on Monday night at Ball State, 73-38.

“During that stretch of time our ball pressure was lacking,” Kent State head coach Danielle O’Banion said. “We missed layups, and their three point shooters did a really nice job of getting their feet set and taking rhythm threes. That was a focus for us tonight we had to make sure that we didn’t allow their three point shooters to get comfortable, and during that stretch they were very comfortable.”

The Cardinals (15-15, 10-9 MAC) came out in the second half and went on a 15-4 run to extend their lead to 31.

“We continued to talk about making sure that we had consistent ball pressure,” O’Banion said. “I thought they got a few more transition threes than we would like. But I thought those threes were a result of us having trouble matching up in transition. We talked about extending our ball pressure, and when we did that it gave them less time in the half court to execute their plays.”

The Flashes (7-23, 4-15 MAC) finished the game shooting 29 percent from the field, and committed 18 turnovers in the game.

Senior guard Ashley Evans led the Flashes in scoring for the third consecutive game with 10 points. Amber Dunlap added nine points, and redshirt junior center CiCi Shannon pulled down 11 rebounds and scored four.

“It means a lot to us that Ashley and Amber have poured as much as they have into this program,” O’Banion said. “They have been pivotal in helping us shift this program. So we are very grateful for them.”

Ball State shot 23 of 45 from the field for the game, and 12 of 20 from behind the three point line.

Nathalie Fontaine led the Cardinals’ offensive attack with 21 points on seven of nine from the field, and she grabbed eight rebounds. Jill Morrison followed with 18 points.

The Cardinals finished the game with 20 assists compared to the Flashes six, and they also out-rebounded the Flashes, 34-30.

“We’re excited about the direction that we are headed in,” O’Banion said. “We showed tremendous improvement I would say particularly over the last month and half of this season. I am really excited for our players to have gotten a glimpse of where we can go.”

Contact Taylor Rosen at [email protected].