MUNCIE, Ind. ? Indiana State battled on the road at Ball State, playing a nip-tuck affair with the Cardinals in front of 895 fans at Worthen Arena, but the Sycamores went cold over the final five minutes of the game and allowed Ball State to grab an 82-63 decision.

ISU fell to 2-6 on the season while Ball State improved to 5-3.

Indiana State freshman Bianca Jarrett pulled ISU within a point of Ball State with 5:42 left in the game, 60-59, on a wide-open lay-up which brought the Sycamores back from trailing by as many as seven points in the first half. After Ball State's Porchia Green answered with a lay-up on the other end to extend the Cardinal advantage out to 62-59, Jarrett continued her offensive tear with another running jumper in the paint that rattled home which whittled the BSU advantage down to 62-61.

With 5:11 showing on the clock, it would be the final field goal for the Sycamores in the game. Ball State used an 11-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to stake themselves to a 73-61 lead with 2:49 left; capped on a 3-pointer by Emily Maggert.

Freshman Deja Mattox broke the scoreless string with a free throw at the 2:21 mark, but that only cut the Cardinal advantage down to 74-62. Ball State scored the game's next seven points at the foul line before Jarrett capped off a career-high 15 point effort with a charity toss of her own in the game's final minute to make it 80-63. Danielle Gratton's lay-up with three seconds left and the shot clock ready to expire made it 82-63.

Jarrett led the way for ISU by hitting 5-of-12 shots from the field, including a 3-pointer plus four free throws to score 15. She was joined in double figures by Leah Phillips who scored 12 points and Kelsey Luna with 11. Luna hit 3-of-8 shots from 3-point range to give her 167 career triples, which is now fourth-best in the history of the program.

The story of the game came down the battle of the boards. Ball State, which entered the game being out-rebounded by opponents by nearly 10 a game, used a 48-28 advantage off the glass to score 18 second chance points, including a pair of crucial points late in the game which extended a Cardinal possession and gave them a four-point trip on their end of the floor.

After shooting at a 41.7 percent clip in the opening half, the Sycamores cooled to a 30.8 percent mark after intermission and finished with a 23-of-62 field goal shooting, a 37.1 percent effort. BSU hit 31-of-63 shots from the field, which was a 49.2 percent clip.

The Cardinals put four scorers in double figures, led by 19 points from Kiley Jarrett and Maggert. Gratton posted 17 and Porchia Green scored 12 points in the second half to finish with 14.

The loss extended the current Sycamore losing streak to four games and gave Ball State its first victory over Indiana State since the 2003 campaign. ISU had downed the Cardinals in each of the last three meetings. The two teams met in Muncie, Ind., for the first time since 1995.

Of note in the game were the first career points for freshmen Amanda Pedro (five points) as well as Kayla Mullins (2 points). Each posted their first collegiate buckets in the first half.

Indiana State returns home on Friday, December 19 when they face off against Eastern Illinois in the opening game of The Sycamore Holiday Showcase at Hulman Center. Tip-off is slated for 5:45 p.m. (EDT). The weekend's action continues to on December 20 when ISU hosts No. 18 nationally-ranked Kansas State at 5:35 p.m.