<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1ZJ9xa_1GsLwwVt00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1ZJ9xa_1GsLwwVt00" width="2000" height="1500" ><figcaption>Ball State second-year guard Aniss Tagayi dirbbles against a High Point University defender during a women's baskteball match Nov. 7, 2026 at Worthen Arena. Ryan Fleek, DN</figcaption></figure>MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball State women’s basketball fell to High Point, 78–71, Saturday at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals made repeated late surges, pulling within three points in the third quarter and four early in the fourth, but High Point held onto the lead throughout. Tessa Towers scored 23 points, and the freshman Lilli Barnes added 20 for Ball State. High Point built its advantage with perimeter shooting. Juliann Woodard led the Panthers with 20 points, while Taylor Feldman scored 21. After the game, Ball State head coach Brady Sallee described the shift in High Point’s scoring focus: “The first half was the Woodard show. The second half was the Feldman show.”The Panthers went into halftime ahead 40–31, while Ball State struggled to convert at the rim and from the free-throw line. The Cardinals finished 8-for-18 at the line, leaving 10 points on the board. Senior center Tessa Towers said Ball State had good looks but could not consistently finish them. Asked whether the missed chances became mental, she said, “I’d say it’s probably a mental thing. We had good looks; we couldn’t finish them.” She also said the team needed to stay together as it worked through those struggles.Ball State’s resurgence came in the third quarter after falling behind by as much as 15. Grace Kingery helped spark the offense as she found life after entering the half down 1-6. Increased defensive pressure forced turnovers and created scoring chances. A late 6–0 run cut the deficit to 54–51 with 43 seconds remaining in the period.Zhen Verburgt opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, cutting the deficit to four, scoring her first points of the game. Ball State stayed within reach, but High Point answered each surge and closed out the game. Sallee said the Cardinals’ missed free throws, missed layups, and untimely turnovers left them with little room for error. He called it a game in which Ball State “shot ourselves in the foot a little bit,” adding that the team had created “a margin for error that was so thin” against a good opponent.He also pointed to the team’s preparation. Sallee said Ball State had been “putrid in practice” the day before and could not expect a different performance without a better effort during the week.“We can’t practice like we did on Friday and expect to play any different,” Sallee said. He added that the team needed more maturity in practice because its effort had been inconsistent.Towers echoed the need for more energy and consistency. “We all need to bring more energy and kind of just focus on each other in that way and really just come together in practice,” Towers said. “We know what we have to do. It’s just a matter of getting it done.”Despite the result, Sallee said he was proud of the team’s fight and credited the crowd for staying engaged. He said the Cardinals must bring that same energy from the start and maintain it through practice and games. Ball State will look to do that when it hosts Louisville next Thursday.</div></body>

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MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball State women’s basketball fell to High Point, 78–71, Saturday at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals made repeated late surges, pulling within three points in the third quarter and four early in the fourth, but High Point held onto the lead throughout. Tessa Towers scored 23 points, and the freshman Lilli Barnes added 20 for Ball State.

Ball State’s late surges fall short against High Point

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MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball State women’s basketball fell to High Point, 78–71, Saturday at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals made repeated late surges, pulling within 

Ball State’s late surges fall short against High Point

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