MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ohio women?s fell behind early and couldn?t claw back Saturday, dropping an 81-65 decision to Ball State in Mid-American Conference action in Worthen Arena.

Ohio (11-15, 7-8 MAC) played an even second half with the Cardinals (14-12, 10-5 MAC), 41-41, but a 16-point halftime deficit was too much for head coach Lynn Bria?s squad to overcome.

Senior forward Erin Isbell (Gahanna) dominated the glass Saturday, pulling down 15 boards?11 on the defensive end. Guard Simone Redd (Warrensville Heights), one of three freshman in the Ohio starting lineup, led the Bobcats, posting 20 points and four steals. Junior Tiffany Byrd (Columbus) provided a spark off the bench, knocking down three 3-pointers and scoring 12 points in 12 minutes of action.

Ohio led only once?making the game?s first bucket?and trailed by as many as 24 in the second half. A late run at the end of the first and second periods allowed Ohio to carve into a 20+ point lead, but Ball State was able to keep control and win its 10th league game and third straight contest overall.

Before the clock dipped below the ten minute mark in the first stanza the Cardinals had built a commanding lead. Ball State led 20-4 with 10:28 remaining the period and built its biggest advantage of the half at the 5:17 mark when it led 32-9. Ohio scraped back, however, finishing the half on a 15-8 run to cut the lead to 16 at intermission.

For the half, Isbell nabbed ten boards and Redd accrued 11 points. Ohio shot just 10 percent (1-10) from behind the arc and 58.3 percent from the charity stripe. Ball State?s Kate Endress and Krista Stewart combined for 23 of Ball State?s 40 first half points?15 of those coming from three-point range.

A similar tale would be told in the second half, as Ball State once again surged out to a big lead only to see a late Bobcat rally fall short.

The Cardinals scored 12 of the half?s first 16 points, building its largest lead of the contest, 50-26. The lead stayed better than 20 points for much of the second half until, like the first half, Ohio bounced back. Ohio cut a 24-point deficit at the 5:04 mark into a 16-point Ball State lead when the final horn sounded.

Senior Liz Brown (Thermopolis, Wyo.) knocked down all seven of her free-throw attempts and finished with nine points for the Bobcats who finished the game shooting 36.2 percent from the floor, 20.7 percent behind the arc and 77.3 percent from the stripe.

Endress led the Cardinal attack with 17 points, while Stewart kicked in 15 and guard Kelsey Corbin notched 16.

The Bobcats will conclude the regular season on Tuesday night in The Convo, then return home once again to play host to the first round of the MAC Tournament. Ohio and Miami will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, with the Bobcats? five seniors to be honored before tip-off.