Ball State University Athletics
Women's Hoops Launch Season Saturday at Murray State
November 15, 2005 | Women's Basketball
MATCHUP AT A GLANCE:
Arena (Seating Capacity) Regional Special Events Center (8,500)
Tip-off 7:30 p.m.
Television none
Webcast WCRD FM 91.3
Series Murray State leads 1-0
RADIO COVERAGE: The Ball State - Murray State game will be broadcast live by WCRD FM 91.3 . . . BSU's student-run station will 24 regular-season games plus all postseason competition . . . Sports director Nathan Rausch is in his second full season as a part of the broadcast team and will handle play-by-play duties this year . . . Joel Nickels will provide color commentary, while Kyle Trompeter will do sideline reporting . . . The WCRD broadcasts can be heard via the internet at the official web site of Ball State athletics: www.ballstatesports.com.
SCOUTING BALL STATE: Ball State was perfect in two exhibition games this season, including a 74-65 win over the Ohio Legends Nov. 1 and then a 94-93 verdict over the Hoosier Lady Stars Nov. 13 . . . Three players averaged double-digit scoring marks over the two contests, led by the 16.0 points-per-game average of Julie DeMuth . . . Kelsey Corbin was second with a 15.5 average and Tina Bolte was third with her 12.0 average . . . DeMuth also topped the team with 7.5 rebounds per game . . . Corbin added a 5.0 assists average . . . The Cardinals shot 51.2 percent (62-of-121) from the field, including 12-of-30 from 3-point range, over the two-game span plus converted 68 percent (32-of-47) of their free throw tries.
THE 2005-06 CARDINALS: The Cardinals return nine letterwinners and add four newcomers to this year's squad, whose immediate task will be filling the void created by the graduation of 2005 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year Kate Endress . . . Five of the nine returnees have starting experience . . . Heading the list is junior guard Tina Bolte, who is the leading returning scorer after averaging 11.2 points per game a year ago . . . Bolte and junior guard Kelsey Corbin started all 29 games last season . . . Corbin brings back an 8.3 scoring average and 4.6 rebounding mark from last season . . . Sophomore guard Julie DeMuth returns after a stellar campaign, which concluded with her being named to the MAC All-Freshman Team . . . DeMuth topped the team last season with 7.2 rebounds per game, while adding 7.4 points each outing . . . Senior Raechelle Hampton and junior Becca Bajorek are both back with starting experience in the post position . . . Hampton started 24 games and averaged 7.0 points and 4.8 rebounds last year . . . Bajorek was a starter in 17 contests . . . She averaged 6.4 points and 4.8 rebounds . . . The list of returning players is rounded out by seniors Krista Stewart and Erica Cotton -- both juniors eligibility-wise, plus sophomores Brandy Ross and Lisa Rusche.
A QUARTET OF NEWCOMERS: Four newcomers join Ball State's 2005-06 roster . . . Junior guard Stephanie Douglas comes to BSU after playing last season at Meridian Community College, where she averaged 16 points, six rebounds and two assists per game . . . Freshman guards Porchia Green and Kiley Jarrett both ended their prep careers as Indiana High School All-Stars . . . Freshman guard Dana Moorman rounds out the list of newcomers.
BSU CAPTAINS: Juniors Tina Bolte and Kelsey Corbin plus sophomore Julie DeMuth will serve as tri-captains of the 2005-06 squad . . . Corbin is in her second season as a captain for the Cardinals . . . All three players were regular starters on last season's team, which posted a 16-13 overall mark and an 11-5 MAC slate.
SCOUTING MURRAY STATE: Murray State was also 2-0 in exhibition play this season with wins over the St. Louis Goldstar (100-75) and the Blue Chip All-Stars (80-61) . . . The Racers return six letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's 9-19 team . . . Ashley B. Hayes tops the list after finishing the 2004-05 campaign as the team's second leading scorer with her 10.3 average . . . Shaleea Petty also returns after scoring at a 9.4 clip one year ago . . . Freshman Ashley N. Hayes tallied double figures in both exhibition games, including 23 against the Goldstar.
BALL STATE VS. MURRAY STATE: The Cardinals and Racers met for the first time last season, when MSU tallied an 87-76 victory Nov. 28 in Muncie . . . In that contest, Rebecca Remington led all scorers with 29, while Ashley B. Hayes dropped in 25 . . . Five players scored in double figures for Ball State led by the 15-point efforts of Raechelle Hampton and Krista Stewart . . . Becca Bajorek was second with 13, while Kate Endress and Tina Bolte chipped in with 10 each.
BALANCED BALL STATE: Ball State showed a familiar sign of balance in its two exhibition games with five players tallying double digits against the Hoosier Lady Stars and four versus the Ohio Legends . . . BSU had a minimum of three players reach double-digit scoring marks in 15 of 29 games last season with five accomplishing the feat once . . . Four players scored in double figures in a total of seven games.
BALL STATE IN SEASON OPENERS: Ball State is 14-17 in season openers, including 7-3 over the last 10 campaigns . . . Under head coach Tracy Roller, the Cardinals have posted a 2-2 record in season-opening contests . . . When on the road in a season-opening game, BSU has posted a 6-11 mark . . . Ball State launched the 2004-05 campaign by posting back-to-back victories over Wagner (85-46) and Seton Hall (71-69) on the way to the title of the Seton Hall Classic.
HEAD COACH TRACY ROLLER: Tracy Roller begins her fifth year as head coach of Ball State's women's basketball program . . . She spent two years as assistant coach before taking over the head spot prior to the 2000-01 season . . . Roller is the winningest coach in the program's history with her 74-47 overall record for a .612 rate of success . . . The 2002 MAC Coach of the Year, Roller has led BSU to a 43-21 league ledger, two runner-up finishes in the Mid-Am Tournament and two appearances in the postseason WNIT.
REMAINING COACHING STAFF: An original member of Tracy Roller's staff, Lisa McDonald returns for her fifth season at BSU -- this year in her newly minted position of associate head coach . . . Jeanette Gray is back for her third season . . . Mike Geary joins the staff this year as an assistant after 17 years as head coach at Northern Michigan University . . . Monique Govan is in her first season as director of basketball operations.
SCHEDULE CHANGE: Ball State's Jan. 31 game at Ohio has been moved back to an 8 p.m. starting time to accommodate television . . . The game will be broadcast by Fox Sports Net Ohio.
HOME GROWN: Ball State's 2005-06 roster boasts five players from the state of Indiana -- junior Tina Bolte (Columbus) and Kelsey Corbin (Fort Wayne), sophomore Julie DeMuth (Merrillville) and freshmen Porchia Green (Indianapolis) and Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington) . . . Bolte, Corbin and DeMuth were all fulltime starters last season.
THROUGH MICHIGAN AND OHIO: If not from Indiana, you should look at Detroit, Mich., to find the homes of four more Cardinals -- juniors Erica Cotton, Stephanie Douglas and Raechelle Hampton plus sophomore Brandy Ross . . . Three more hail from the state of Ohio -- junior Becca Bajorek (Columbus), sophomore Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati) and freshman Dana Moorman (Dayton).
LAST SEASON: Ball State concluded the 2004-05 campaign with a 16-13 overall record and an 11-5 Mid-American Conference mark . . . The Cardinals tied for second place in the West Division and earned the No. 5 seed in the MAC Tournament . . . The fifth-seeded Cardinals hosted 12th-seeded Akron in the first round and posted a 77-52 victory . . . In quarterfinal action at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, BSU's season was ended with a 72-64 loss at the hands of fourth-seeded Eastern Michigan.
FORMIDABLE FOE: When Ball State travels to Duke Dec. 19, it will be taking on a Blue Devils squad, which is picked No. 1 in The Associated Press Preseason Poll and No. 2 in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Preseason Poll . . . Duke finished last season with a 31-5 overall record and ranked 7/8, respectively, in the final polls . . . When the Blue Devils visited Muncie Dec. 20, 2004, they were the third-ranked team in the nation.
TV TIME: Ball State is scheduled to have two games aired by the Ball State Sports Network -- Jan. 18 vs. Eastern Michigan and Feb. 4 against Buffalo . . . In addition, the Cardinals will appear on FSN Ohio Jan. 31 at Ohio and on Comcast Local Feb. 28 versus Northern Illinois.
IT'S ACADEMIC: The spring 2005 grading period marked the fourth-straight semester the Ball State women's basketball team has combined for a better than 3.00 grade-point average . . . The 11-member squad tallied a 3.10 GPA for the 2005 spring semester, a 3.02 for the 2004 fall semester, a 3.18 GPA for the 2004 spring semester and a 3.30 GPA for the 2003 fall semester . . . The 2004-05 team boasted an overall cumulative GPA of 3.17 with eight members netting 3.0 or higher marks . . . Kate Endress topped the team with a 3.96 GPA after posting a perfect 4.0 mark her final two semesters . . . Kelsey Corbin was second with a 3.67, followed by Tina Bolte at 3.37, Becca Bajorek at 3.36, Julie DeMuth at 3.30, Lisa Rusche at 3.20, Brandy Ross at 3.16 and Raechelle Hampton at 3.10.
