Ball State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Extends Winning Streak to FIVE
November 30, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Ball State extended its winning streak to five with a 65-61 victory over Illinois State Wednesday evening at Worthen Arena. The 5-0 mark is the best start in the 32-year history of women's basketball at the university. Sophomore Julie DeMuth notched her second-straight double-double -- the fifth of her career -- with a game-high 19 points and 14 rebounds in leading the Cardinals over the Redbirds in a tightly-contested battle from start to finish.
The opening minutes of the game looked like it would be a long night as each team was unsuccessful in converting any of their first four possessions. On its fifth possession, Illinois State's Amber Shelton hit a long bomb from the top of the key for the game's first points with 2:02 elapsed. After another Redbirds' bucket, DeMuth took a pass from Tina Bolte and made good on a layup to put Ball State on the board. Krista Stewart's 3-pointer one minute later knotted the score and the race was on.
Over the next six minutes, the teams traded baskets and leads, but a short jumper by Erica Cotton gave BSU a 15-14 advantage and a lead it would not relinquish for the remainder of the half. Cotton's basket began a run of 12 unanswered points, concluding with a layup by Raechelle Hampton to give BSU its first double-digit lead of 25-14 with 6:05 remaining in the period. The teams scored a combined 18 points before ending the half with the Cardinals on top 33-24. Over the first 20 minutes, Ball State converted 42.3 (11-of-26) of its field goals plus 9-of-11 from the line. Illinois State, on the other hand, was limited to a cool 30 (9-of-30) percent from the floor and just 15 rebounds to BSU's 22.
Illinois State opened the second half on fire with a 7-0 run to get within two points at 33-31 at the 15:52 mark. After Ball State began the period 0-of-7 from the floor, Bolte responded with a long 3-pointer to put the Cardinals back up by five. The teams traded baskets for most of the next five minutes, before the Redbirds' Ashley Sandstead hit a trey to put her team within two points at 45-43 with 9:48 left. Bolte followed with back-to-back free throws, but Sandstead duplicated the feat and then a 3-pointer by Brea Banks gave Illinois State the lead -- 48-47 at the 7:53 mark. Back-to-back free throws by DeMuth put the Cardinals back on top for good. The Redbirds got within one point two more times, but BSU quickly countered to augment its lead.
"What a great, great game," BSU head coach Tracy Roller said. "Illinois State is a good team and I am so proud of the way our team played tonight. We knew it would be a battle and it was. Julie DeMuth certainly stood out again for us tonight, but, once again, we got a lot of contributions from many different people. We are so deep and are really fun to watch. The great thing is that at 5-0, we still could get better. We don't have Becca (Bajorek) and Porchia (Green) back from injuries. We need to do a better job of taking care of the ball and yet we are 5-0. That just shows the character of this team."
Besides DeMuth, Bolte and Hampton also reached double figure scoring marks with 11 and 10, respectively. Shelton and Kristi Cirone led the Redbirds with 16 points apiece, while Sandstead chipped in with 10. Both teams shot just under 40 percent for the game from the floor and both accumulated 39 rebounds apiece.
Ball State plays its final game of a five-game home stand Sunday when it hosts Valparaiso in the nightcap of the State Farm Classic doubleheader at 4:30. Butler and Indiana State pair off at 2 p.m.
