Ball State University Athletics
Women's Hoops to Host Battle of the Unbeatens Wednesday
November 29, 2005 | Women's Basketball
MATCHUP AT A GLANCE:
Arena (Seating Capacity) Worthen Arena (11,500)
Tip-off 7 p.m.
Television none
Webcast WCRD FM 91.3 and WXFN 1340 AM
Series BSU leads 2-1
RADIO COVERAGE: The BSU-Illinois State contest will be broadcast live by WCRD FM 91.3 . . . BSU's student-run station will carry 26 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.
MORE RADIO: Besides the 26-game WCRD package, Ball State will have 15 regular-season games plus all MAC Tournament games carried by Muncie's WXFN 1340 AM . . . The package includes the Illinois State game . . . Jay Garrison, who is in his fourth season as part of the team, will handle play-by-play duties, while former BSU basketball standout Julie Just will provide the color commentary . . . Just is in her second season with WXFN . . . When scheduled, the WXFN broadcasts can be heard via the internet at www.ballstatesports.com or www.yahoo.com.
BALL STATE PROBABLE STARTERS:
1 Tina Bolte G 5-7 Jr./Jr. 11.0 ppg 2.0 rpg 1.3 apg 23.5 mpg
11 Kelsey Corbin G 5-9 Jr./Jr. 9.8 ppg 4.3 rpg 5.5 apg 26.5 mpg
13 Raechelle Hampton C 6-2 Sr./Sr. 8.3 ppg 5.8 rpg 1.0 apg 23.5 mpg
35 Krista Stewart C 6-1 Sr./Jr. 13.5 ppg 2.3 rpg 1.5 spg 23.5 mpg
14 Julie DeMuth G 5-10 So./So. 13.3 ppg 9.0 rpg 2.5 spg 23.0 mpg
OFF THE BENCH:
2 Stephanie Douglas G 5-9 Jr./Jr. 5.0 ppg 1.7 rpg 0.5 spg 8.0 mpg
3 Porchia Green G 5-8 Fr./Fr. 10.5 ppg 4.5 rpg 3.5 spg 26.5 mpg
12 Kiley Jarrett G 5-4 Fr./Fr. 5.0 ppg 2.3 rpg 4.8 apg 21.8 mpg
23 Erica Cotton G 5-8 Sr./Jr. 2.5 ppg 1.5 rpg 1.3 apg 10.8 mpg
25 Dana Moorman F 6-0 Fr./Fr. 1.0 ppg 1.3 rpg 0.0 apg 5.3 mpg
42 Lisa Rusche F 6-1 So./So. 3.5 ppg 2.8 rpg 0.5 spg 13.5 mpg
44 Brandy Ross F 6-1 So./So. 2.0 ppg 2.7 rpg 0.5 apg 10.8 mpg
52 Becca Bajorek C 6-2 Jr./Jr. 0.0 ppg 0.0 rpg 0.0 bpg 0.0 mpg
SCOUTING BALL STATE: Ball State improved to 4-0 after back-to-back victories to capture the title of the first-ever BSU Credit Union Classic last weekend . . . The Cardinals posted an 83-53 win over Lipscomb in the semifinals and then dropped North Dakota State 65-54 to earn the crown . . . Krista Stewart leads a pack of four players who are averaging double-figure scoring marks with her 13.5 points per game . . . Julie DeMuth is second with a 13.3 average, followed by Tina Bolte at 11.0 and Porchia Green at 10.5 . . . DeMuth is first for BSU with 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game . . . Kelsey Corbin leads the pack with a 5.5 assists-per-game average . . . BSU is averaging 78.5 points and 41 rebounds each game, while yielding 62 points and 40 rebounds to its opponents . . . The Cardinals average 12.3 steals per game and are forcing their opponents into 21.5 turnovers a contest.
INJURY UPDATE: Junior center Becca Bajorek is out indefinitely due to a hip injury . . . She has not played this season . . . Freshman guard Porchia Green missed last weekend's contests due to a knee injury . . . Her status is day-to-day.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE: Illinois State also brings a 4-0 record into Wednesday's game . . . The Redbirds own victories over Chicago State (70-63), Loyola Chicago (82-56), Northern Illinois (60-50) and South Alabama (57-50) . . . ISU, which advanced to last season's NCAA Tournament, has four players averaging double-digit scoring marks led by the 17.3 average of Holly Hallstrom . . . She also tops the team with an 8.8 rebounding average . . . Kristi Cirone is second in scoring with 14 points per game, followed by Amber Shelton at 11.3 and Ashley Sandstead at 11.0 . . . Illinois State, which is 4-0 for the second time in school history, is averaging 67.2 points and 38.2 rebounds each game, while limiting its opponents to just 54.8 points and 35.8 rebounds.
BALL STATE VS. ILLINOIS STATE: Ball State and Illinois State have met just three times and the Cardinals have been victorious in two of those matchups . . . BSU won the first meeting between the teams -- 78-61 Dec. 4, 2001, at ISU and then followed with an 87-64 verdict Dec. 2, 2003, in Muncie . . . The Redbirds' posted their first victory -- 82-74 at home last season.
LAST MEETING: Illinois State posted an 82-74 victory Dec. 1, 2004, in Normal . . . The Cardinals utilized an efficient first half to take a 39-36 lead into the break, but then went cold while ISU heated up in the second stanza . . . The Redbirds shot a torrid 62.1 (18-of-29) from the floor over the final 20 minutes to earn the victory . . . Kate Endress led a pack of four BSU players who scored in double figures with 21 points, while Jaci McCormack led the Redbirds with a game-high 22 scores . . . BSU won the rebounding battle 41-35 and forced ISU into three more turnovers (16-13).
BSU CAPTAINS: Juniors Tina Bolte and Kelsey Corbin plus sophomore Julie DeMuth are 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.
BATTLE OF THE UNBEATEN BIRDS: Wednesday's contest features two teams with identical 4-0 records . . . Only one other team in Ball State's 32-year history has started 4-0 -- the 1999-2000 squad, which lost two after winning its first four . . . Illinois State's 4-0 start is matched by the 1973-74 Redbirds, which opened their campaign at 5-0.
BSU CAPTURES CLASSIC: The Cardinals captured the championship of the first-ever Ball State Credit Union Classic last weekend . . . BSU trounced Lipscomb 83-53 in the semifinals and then defeated North Dakota State 65-54 to win the title . . . The Cardinals averaged 74 points, 43 rebounds and 13 steals a game, while holding their opponents to 53.5 points, 35 rebounds and a cool .352 (38-of-108) field goal percentage . . . BSU also forced its two opponents into 47 turnovers . . . Julie DeMuth was selected as the classic's Most Valuable Player, while Krista Stewart and Kelsey Corbin were named to the all-tournament team.
NON-CONFERENCE TOURNEY STREAK: With its championship in last weekend's Ball State Credit Union Classic, the Cardinals have captured non-conference tournament titles in each of the past four seasons -- all under head coach Tracy Roller . . . BSU also won the championship of the Seton Hall Classic last season, the East Carolina Invitational two years ago and the Lehigh Classic three seasons ago . . . Under Roller, BSU has posted an 11-5 record in non-conference tournament competition.
BALANCED BALL STATE: Ball State has had at least three players score in double figures in three games thus far . . . Four players reached double digits against Evansville and five hit the plateau against North Dakota State -- Krista Stewart, Kiley Jarrett, Julie DeMuth, Kelsey Corbin and Raechelle Hampton . . . All 11 players who dressed against Lipscomb scored at least three points.
STEADY STEW: Senior Krista Stewart is having a career year . . . Over Ball State's four games this season, she tops the team with a 13.5 scoring average and has led the team in scoring in 3-of-4 games . . . Over the weekend, Stewart averaged 17.5 points per game and landed a spot on the all-tournament team . . . In her first collegiate start against Lipscomb Saturday, she tallied a career-high 20 points to lead all scorers . . . She was 8-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc vs. the Lady Bisons . . . She added 15 points against NDSU in the championship.
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS: Sophomore Julie DeMuth is leading Ball State for the second-straight year in rebounding . . . She is averaging 9.0 per game and has led BSU in rebounding three times this season . . . DeMuth also tops BSU with 2.5 steals per game . . . She notched the fourth double-double of her career with 11 points and 13 rebounds vs. North Dakota State in the championship game Sunday . . . The 13 boards gave her nine double-digit rebounding marks in her career . . . Over the two-game span last weekend, DeMuth averaged 10.5 points, 11 rebounds and four steals on the way to earning Most Valuable Player honors . . . DeMuth has scored in double figures in all four of BSU's game this season.
ROOKIE RUMBLINGS: Ball State's newcomers continue to put up impressive stats . . . Last week against Evansville, freshman Porchia Green made her second start and bettered six career marks, including points, steals and assists with 15, five and four, respectively . . . Classmate Kiley Jarrett also led the team with a career-high 11 assists . . . Jarrett had a team-high six assists vs. Lipscomb and then scored a career-best 13 points on a 5-of-7 performance, including 3-of-4 treys, vs. North Dakota State . . . Freshman Dana Moorman scored for the first time against Lipscomb, totaling three points in the contest . . . Junior college transfer Stephanie Douglas matched her career high with seven points Saturday.
MAC STATS: Ball State currently tops the Mid-American Conference in scoring average at 78.5 . . . The Cardinals are also first in field goal percentage (.460), assists (18.5), steals (12.3) and assist/turnover ratio (1.21) . . . BSU ranks in the top three in scoring margin (3rd), 3-point field goal percentage (2nd), turnover margin (2nd), offensive rebounds (3rd) and 3-point field goals made (2nd) . . . Individually, Krista Stewart, Julie DeMuth and Tina Bolte place eighth, 10th and 17th, respectively, in scoring . . . DeMuth is second in rebounding -- both overall and offensive -- and eighth in steals . . . She is also ninth in 3-point field goal percentage . . . Stewart is third in 3-point field goal percentage, fourth in overall field goal percentage and 11th in blocks . . . She ties Bolte for seventh in 3-point field goals made . . . Kelsey Corbin is third in assists, 10th in assist/turnover ratio and 13th in steals . . . Kiley Jarrett is sixth in assists and fourth in assist/turnover ratio . . . Raechelle Hampton is fifth in offensive rebounds.
WONDERFUL WORTHEN: Ball State is 46-15 in home games over the last six campaigns for a .755 rate of success . . . BSU, which is perfect in three home contests this season, finished with an 8-5 mark in home games in 2004-05 after a 6-5 slate during the 2003-04 season . . . BSU posted a 7-2 record at Worthen Arena in 2002-03, dropping two games by a combined total of nine points -- 68-64 to Eastern Michigan March 2 and 78-73 to Toledo Feb. 11 . . . With its first-round WNIT victory over Louisville March 13, 2002, Ball State finished with a program record 13-1 mark at Worthen Arena in 2001-02 . . . The previous best home record was the 2000-01 team's 9-2 ledger.
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 -- juniors 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).
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 MAC 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 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 . . . A starter in 17 contests, Bajorek 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.
BALL STATE COACHING STAFF: Tracy Roller is in 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 . . . An original member of 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.
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 squad that was 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 No. 3 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.
THREE SIGN EARLY: Head coach Tracy Roller inked three players during the early signing period -- Indiana guards Kyleigh Jones (Elwood, Ind./Elwood H.S.) and Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo H.S.) plus post player Kalynne Proctor (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Regina H.S.) . . . Jones and McDonald are both Super Senior 25 preseason picks by Regional Roundball.
