There was no storybook ending, no Mid-American Conference Tournament championship and no NCAA appearance for Ball State women's basketball.
Instead, the third-seeded Cardinals (21-9, 13-5 MAC) will hope for a bid to the National Invitation Tournament after dropping the MAC Tournament quarterfinals to six-seed Eastern Michigan (21-10, 10-8 MAC) 67-53.
Ball State shooting: 19-62 (30.6 percent)
Eastern Michigan shooting: 21-64 (32.8 percent)
Ball State rebounds: 43
Eastern Michigan rebounds: 48
Ball State free throws: 9-12 (75 percent)
Eastern Michigan free throws: 18-25 (72 percent)
Ball State leading scorer: Nathalie Fontaine, 14 points
Ball State head coach Brady Sallee said he was disappointed he couldn’t send senior guard Nathalie Fontaine, the Cardinals’ all-time leading scorer, out on top.