Ball State University Athletics
2004-05 Season Review
August 03, 2005 | Women's Basketball
OVERALL RECORD: 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.
MAC TOURNAMENT: Ball State made its 15th appearance in the MAC's postseason 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 March 9.
MAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Ball State made its 15th appearance in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in 2005 . . . The Cardinals, who earned top-three seeds in 2001, 2002 and 2003, are 9-15 in league tournament competition . . . BSU advanced to the championship game in both the 2002 and 2003 events . . . In 15 tournaments, the Cardinals have made 14 quarterfinal appearances and advanced to the semifinals four times . . . BSU is 4-5 in games played at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
THE 2004-05 CARDINALS: Senior Kate Endress led the team and the MAC with an 18.5 scoring average . . . She was second on the squad with 6.3 rebounds per game . . . Sophomore Tina Bolte also averaged double-digit scoring marks with her 11.2 average . . . Freshman Julie DeMuth topped BSU with a 7.2 rebounding average and 1.5 steals per game average . . . She was fourth with a 7.4 scoring average . . . Kelsey Corbin, who averaged 8.3 points per outing, led the team with 3.7 assists per game . . . In MAC games only, Endress and Bolte averaged 20.4 and 11.9 points per game, respectively . . . DeMuth pulled down a team-best 8.4 rebounds a contest, while Corbin dished off 4.2 assists per game.
100TH GAME: Ball State head coach Tracy Roller coached her 100th game at Ball State -- also the 100th game of her career -- Dec. 12 at Evansville . . . Roller, whose team lost a close game against the Purple Aces, is BSU's all-time winningest coach with a 74-47 overall record.
300 WINS: The Ball State women's basketball program reached its 300th all-time victory in memorable fashion -- with a 71-69 victory over Seton Hall for the title of the Aeropostale Seton Hall Classic Nov. 20 . . . In 31 years as an intercollegiate varsity sport, BSU has compiled a 314-458 overall record.
BSU CAPTAINS: Sophomore guard Kelsey Corbin, junior guard Dana Collins and senior forward Kate Endress served as a tri-captains for the 2004-05 team . . . Endress was serving as team captain for the third-straight year.
ENDRESS SIGNS FREE AGENT CONTRACT WITH SUN: Senior Kate Endress signed a training camp contract with the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA . . . She is the second player in school history to have the opportunity to play at the professional level . . . Tamara Bowie was selected as the 36th overall pick by the Washington Mystics in the 2003 WNBA Draft . . . One of 11 free agents invited to the Sun's training camp, Endress was later released.
ENDRESS NAMED MAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Senior Kate Endress was honored with her selection as the 2005 MAC Player of the Year . . . She is just the third player in the 31-year history of women's basketball at Ball State to earn league player of the year accolades . . . Endress joins Tamara Bowie (2001 and 2003) and Jenny Eckert (1990) on that elite list.
ENDRESS NAMED TO ALL-MAC FIRST TEAM: Senior Kate Endress was named to the 2005 All-Mid-American Conference First Team . . . She is one of only two players in program history to earn the honor more than once in a career, joining three-time recipient and two-time MAC Player of the Year Tamara Bowie on that list . . . Endress topped the MAC with an 18.5 scoring average and a .461 (70-of-152) 3-point field goal percentage . . . She ranked among league leaders in a total of eight statistical categories . . . Endress joined EMU's Ryan Coleman, Western Michigan's Carrie Moore plus Kent State's Melissa DeGrate and Lindsay Shearer on the first team.
DeMUTH NAMED TO MAC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM: Julie DeMuth was selected to the MAC All-Freshman Team . . . DeMuth, who played in all 29 of BSU's games with starts in 17, topped the team and ranked 10th in the league with 7.2 rebounds a game . . . She averaged 8.4 rebounds in 16 MAC games, which placed her second in the league . . . DeMuth tallied eight double-figure rebounding efforts, five double-digit scoring marks and three double-doubles . . . She led BSU in rebounding 11 times and in scoring twice.
ENDRESS EARNS KODAK ALL-AMERICA HONORS: Senior Kate Endress earned honorable mention on the 2005 Kodak/WBCA All-America Basketball Team after her selection to the Kodak/WBCA All-Region 4 Team . . . A starter in all 29 contests, Endress topped the MAC with an 18.5 scoring average and a .461 3-point field goal percentage . . . She ranked among league leaders in a total of eight statistical categories . . . Endress totaled 26 double-figure scoring efforts, six double-digit rebounding finishes and five double-doubles in 2004-05 . . . She surpassed the 20-point scoring plateau on 14 occasions, including a career-high 30 points against Central Michigan March 2 . . . She led or tied for team-high scoring honors 22 times and rebounding honors nine times.
ENDRESS NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN OF THE YEAR: Senior Kate Endress was selected as the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Women's Basketball University Division Academic All-American of the Year . . . For the second-straight year, she was also named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team, which is selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) . . . Endress is just the second student-athlete -- male or female -- in school history to be honored as an Academic All-American of the Year, joining former field hockey player and Honda Award winner Sally Northcroft on the elite list . . . Endress is the first female basketball player in school history to earn first-team distinction on the Academic All-America Team and one of only eight student-athletes in all sports at Ball State over the 32-year history of CoSIDA Academic All-America awards to earn First Team Academic All-America honors twice in a career . . . She is one of only 10 female basketball players in Mid-American Conference history to earn first team honors and one of only two to duplicate the feat . . . Endress was also named to the 2005 Academic All-District V Team for the third-successive year.
CORBIN AND ENDRESS NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-MAC TEAM: Sophomore Kelsey Corbin and senior Kate Endress were named to the 2005 Academic All-MAC Team, selected by the league's faculty athletic representatives . . . Corbin owns a 3.67 grade-point average as a psychology major, while Endress graduated Summa cum Laude in May with a 3.96 GPA as an entrepreneurship major.
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 boasts an overall cumulative GPA of 3.17 with eight members boasting 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 is 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.
ENDRESS IN AN ELITE CLASS: Kate Endress is the second woman and one of only four players -- male or female -- in Ball State history to reach the 1,800 career scoring plateau . . . Her 1,843 total places her No. 2 on BSU's all-time scoring chart . . . Her 1,843 points and 663 rebounds makes her one of only three players -- male or female -- in BSU annals to surpass the 1,800 point and 600-rebound milestones in a career . . . She joins Bonzi Wells (2,485 points/843 rebounds) of the Sacramento Kings and two-time Mid-American Conference Player of the Year Tamara Bowie (2,091 points/933 rebounds) on the exclusive list.
HOME GROWN: Ball State's 2004-05 roster boasted five players from the state of Indiana -- senior Kate Endress, junior Dana Collins, sophomores Tina Bolte and Kelsey Corbin and freshman Julie DeMuth . . . All but Collins, who suffered a season-ending injury in December, were in the starting lineup.
BALANCE THE NORM: As has been typical of Ball State teams over the past couple seasons, a balanced scoring attack was once again the norm in 2004-05 . . . The Cardinals had a minimum of three players produce double-figure scoring efforts in 15 of 29 games during the season with five -- Becca Bajorek, Tina Bolte, Kate Endress, Raechelle Hampton and Krista Stewart -- accomplishing the feat against Murray State Nov. 28 . . . Four players scored in double figures in seven more games -- against Wagner in the opener, at Illinois State, against St. Louis Dec. 28, against Central Michigan Jan. 8, versus Western Michigan Jan. 12, against Kent State, versus Toledo Feb. 26 and against Akron in the first round of the MAC Tournament.
NOTHING LESS THAN PERFECT: Tina Bolte extended her consecutive free throws-without-a-miss streak to 28 with three makes, before seeing the streak halted on her fourth attempt of the game against Ohio Feb. 26 . . . Her season high streak began on the second of four attempts versus Central Michigan Jan. 8 . . . Bolte's .896 (60-of-67) overall free throw percentage was tops in the final MAC stats . . . Her .935 (29-of-31) percentage in MAC games was just shy of meeting the minimum requirements to rank among the league leaders . . . Bolte was perfect from the line in 13 games during the 2004-05 season, including career highs of 8-of-8 against both Saint Louis and Kent State . . . Kate Endress, who placed second in the MAC with an .887 (86-of-97) overall free throw percentage, converted a BSU and career-high 12-of-12 free tries at Northern Illinois Feb. 5 . . . She matched Bolte with a perfect 8-of-8 against Miami and, like Bolte, was also perfect from the line 13 times during the year.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Besides multiple double-digit scoring totals, Ball State players combined for nine double-doubles in 2004-05 . . . Kate Endress led the way with five (vs. Toledo, Central Michigan, Buffalo, Western Michigan and Northern Illinois) . . . Julie DeMuth tallied three (Wagner, Buffalo and Kent State) double-doubles, while Becca Bajorek produced one (Saint Louis).
DOUBLE DeMUTH: Freshman Julie DeMuth recorded her eighth double-digit rebounding total with 12 against Eastern Michigan in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals . . . DeMuth registered a BSU-leading 7.2 rebounding average -- including 8.4 in 16 MAC games -- and led the team in that category a BSU high 11 times in 2004-05 . . . She produced five double-figure scoring efforts and a total of three double-doubles . . . She tallied 27 points and 18 rebounds versus Kent State Jan. 22 . . . The 18 rebounds tie the BSU Worthen Arena record and also tie for fifth on the school's all-time single-game chart.
EXPERT PROGNOSTICATORS?: The grade is in and the Mid-American Conference head coaches and members of the MAC News Media Association did not collectively score very high in their preseason poll . . . In the 2004-05 MAC Preseason Poll, Eastern Michigan was picked first in the West Division followed by Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Toledo, Ball State, Northern Illinois and Central Michigan . . .The final regular-season standings had Bowling Green first, Eastern Michigan and Ball State tied for second, followed by Toledo in fourth, Western Michigan in fifth, and Central Michigan and Northern Illinois in sixth . . . The preseason poll also had Miami in first place in the East Division followed by Kent State, Marshall, Ohio, Buffalo and Akron . . . In reality, Kent State and Marshall shared the title, while Miami finished tied for third with Ohio . . . Akron and Buffalo finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
NCAA STATISTICS: Kate Endress finished the season ranked among the national leaders in three statistical categories . . . She was fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (.461), seventh in free throw percentage (.887) and 29th in scoring (18.5) . . . In addition, Ball State was 20th as a team in 3-point field goal percentage (.364).
ENDRESS EARNS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS FOUR TIMES IN 2004-05: Senior Kate Endress was honored as the final Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week in 2004-05 for her efforts in leading Ball State to a 68-67 win over Central Michigan in the regular season finale March 1 . . . It marked the fourth time during the season and the sixth time in her career she earned the award . . . Endress scored a game-high 30 points against Central Michigan . . . She eclipsed her previous scoring high on her winning bucket with just 14 seconds remaining in the contest . . . Endress was also honored as the MAC West Division Player of the Week Jan. 24 and Jan. 31 . . . She averaged 21.5 points and 5.5 rebounds to lead BSU to wins over Northern Illinois and Kent State on the way to the Jan. 24 honor . . . Endress averaged 25.5 points and 9.0 rebounds to lead Ball State to wins over Western Michigan and Miami enroute to her selection Jan. 31 . . . Endress was also the first player of the week in 2004-05 after earning MVP honors at the Seton Hall Classic . . . She led the Cardinals to the championship with her two-game total of 36 points, eight rebounds, four steals, two assists and two blocked shots . . . She had a game-high 19 points in the title game.
ENDRESS IN THE BOOKS: Kate Endress completed her career ranked No. 2 all-time at Ball State and No. 11 in the MAC in scoring with 1,843 points . . . She went over the 1,000 career scoring plateau Jan. 3, 2004, versus Marshall . . . Endress is No. 1 at BSU in career field goals attempted (1,553), tied for first in games played (120), No. 2 in field goals made (667), 3-point field goals made (205) and in 3-point field goals attempts (467), tied for fifth in free throws (304) and games started (93), No. 6 in rebounds (663) and No. 10 in free throw attempts (361) . . . She finished her career ranked among MAC all-time leaders in seven categories, including first in 3-point field goal percentage (.439) . . . Her 18.8 scoring average in 2003-04 places seventh all time at Ball State . . . She is No. 1 with 474 field goal attempts in 2004-05 plus third with 411 in 2003-04 plus No. 4 in 3-point field goals made with 70 in 2004-05 . . . Endress ties for first in games played in a season with 32 in 2001-02 and is second in minutes played with 1,001 in 2002-03 . . . She places No. 4 in minutes played in a game with 49 versus Indiana Nov. 23, 2002 . . . She ties for the fifth-highest field goal attempts in a game with 26 vs. Illinois State Dec. 1, 2004 . . . Her 17 rebounds Feb. 29, 2004, versus Bowling Green ties for 10th on single-game charts . . . She reached double figures in scoring 93 times in her career, including 37 times with 20 or more points and once more with 30 points . . . Endress accumulated 16 double-digit rebounding marks and a total of 14 double-doubles in her four seasons . . . She led BSU in scoring 48 times and in rebounding 24 times.
OFF THE BENCH: Ball State had strong performances from its bench in all of its contests in 2004-05 . . . In the opener against Wagner, Julie DeMuth came off the bench to accumulate a team-high 21 points and 12 rebounds . . . At Saint Louis, DeMuth came off the bench to nab a game-high eight rebounds . . . She tied for third with nine points against Kansas and then was second with 10 rebounds and a team-best and career-high five steals versus Central Michigan.
In the Seton Hall championship game versus the Lady Pirates, Becca Bajorek contributed 13 points off the bench . . . She came off the bench against Western Michigan to score nine points and pull down four rebounds . . . Against Miami, she tallied eight points, six rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal in 20 minutes of work . . . She reached double digits for the sixth time this season with 14 over a 23-minute span against Toledo . . . Bajorek converted a career-high seven field goals vs. the Rockets.
Against Murray State, Krista Stewart totaled 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench . . . She scored eight at Illinois State and added six at Indiana State . . . Stewart contributed nine points at Evansville and had eight points and two steals in 18 minutes at NIU . . . She converted 3-of-6 treys to score nine points at Akron . . . Stewart tied her career high with 15 points off the bench against Ohio . . . She also career highs with two steals and five field goals . . . Stewart, who totaled nine boards, was 5-of-9 from the floor versus the Bobcats, including a trio of three's.
Lisa Rusche was second with six rebounds against Duke . . . She had a career-high three steals at Buffalo.
Erica Cotton tied for team honors with a career-best six boards vs. Northern Illinois . . . Against Western Michigan, she came off the bench and hit a clutch 3-pointer plus a free throw during a critical 11-2 BSU run late in the game . . . She also had five rebounds and three assists . . . Cotton tied her career high with eight boards at Eastern Michigan . . . She dished off a career-high six assists in 10 minutes of action at Marshall and pulled down five rebounds at Akron . . . She scored a season-high eight points plus pulled down four rebounds, had three assists and two steals vs. Ohio . . . Cotton scored seven points and added three rebounds, one steal and her first-ever blocked shot at Central Michigan . . . She totaled six points, three rebounds and three assists versus Akron in the first round of the MAC Tournament.
Brandy Ross made the most of her minutes (9) with a career-high eight points and three rebounds at Eastern Michigan.
CONVINCING OPENER: Ball State's 39-point margin of victory over Wagner was the most in a season opener since the Cardinals inaugurated their 1976-77 campaign with a 56-point rout (90-34) of Valparaiso.
BSU CAPTURES SETON HALL TOURNAMENT: Ball State opened its season with back-to-back wins to take the title of the Seton Hall Classic . . . The Cardinals posted an 85-46 win over Wagner in the opener and then registered a 71-69 victory over the host Lady Pirates on the way to the crown . . . BSU's title at Seton Hall marks the second-straight year it has captured a tournament championship . . . In 2003-04, the Cardinals won the East Carolina Invitational . . . Three players earned all-tournament honors at Seton Hall . . . Besides Kate Endress being selected as the tournament MVP, Julie DeMuth and Tina Bolte were also honored . . . DeMuth totaled 27 points, 17 rebounds, five steals, two blocks and two assists over the two-game span . . . She led BSU with 21 points and 12 rebounds in the opener vs. Wagner . . . Bolte added 21 points in the two contests.
SEASON OF FIRSTS: Ball State played its first-ever game against Duke or any ACC school when it met the Blue Devils at Worthen Arena Dec. 20 . . . The Cardinals also hosted a Big 12 team for the first time when Kansas came to Muncie Dec. 30 . . . The contest was just the third for the Cardinals versus a member of the Big 12 Conference over the past 31 campaigns . . . BSU met its first member of the Big 12 -- Kansas State -- in the 2002-03 Preseason WNIT and then traveled to Kansas in 2003-04 . . . In another series of firsts, Ball State met Wagner, Seton Hall and Murray State in 2004-05.
HIGHEST RANKED TEAM IN WORTHEN: When then third-ranked ranked Duke visited Worthen Arena Dec. 20, it was the highest ranked team -- male or female -- to ever play in Ball State's facility, which opened with a doubleheader vs. Miami Jan. 15, 1992 . . . The previous highest-ranked team to play at Worthen was the No. 15 Indiana Hoosier men Dec. 31, 2002.
NEAR-RECORD ATTENDANCE: Ball State had its second-highest home attendance figure in program history with 3,983 in Worthen Arena Dec. 20 versus Duke . . . The figure was 48 short of breaking the school-record 4,030 mark set Feb. 2, 2002, versus Toledo and 769 better than the previous second-place figure of 3,214 achieved Feb. 3, 2003, against Miami.
WONDERFUL WORTHEN: Ball State is 43-15 in home games over the last five campaigns for a .741 rate of success . . . BSU finished with an 8-5 mark (.615) in home games in 2004-05 after a 6-5 slate during the 2003-04 season . . . BSU posted a 7-2 (.778) 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.
TV TIME: Ball State had four of its regular-season games plus the first round of the MAC Tournament televised in 2004-05 . . . The Cardinals appeared in the first of the MAC's seven regular-season game television package Jan. 30 against Miami and then again Feb. 13 at Marshall . . . BSU's two-game regular-season package with the Ball State Sports Network included its Dec. 20 contest against Duke and its Feb. 26th date with Ohio . . . The final BSSN game was the March 5th MAC Tournament first round game against Akron.
RADIO COVERAGE: Ball State's student-run station carried all 27 regular-season games and both tournament contests in 2004-05 . . . Sports director Joe Hatcher handled the play-by-play for the fourth season . . . Dan McGowan, Nathan Rausch and Michael Towne split color commentary duties. . . The WCRD broadcasts can be heard each season via the internet at the official web site of Ball State athletics: www.ballstatesports.com.
MORE RADIO: The 2004-05 WXFN package included a total of 17 games -- 15 regular-season games plus both MAC Tournament contests . . . The station covered all home contest plus four road games . . . Jay Garrison and Kevin Lee split play-by-play duties . . . Garrison also served as color commentator along with Dan McGowan for a number of contests . . . Garrison, the sports director for Backyard Broadcasting, concluded his third year doing BSU women's games . . . Lee, host of WIBC's Sportstalk and host of the Pacers Radio Network, wrapped up his fourth year as part of the broadcast team . . . McGowan was a first-year member of the team . . . When scheduled, the WXFN broadcasts can be heard via the internet at www.ballstatesports.com or www.yahoo.com.
FOUR NEWCOMERS TO JOIN 2005-06 TEAM: Three incoming freshmen and one junior college transfer comprise the list of newcomers to the 2005-06 team . . . Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington H.S.), Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North H.S.) and Dana Moorman (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont H.S.) all signed national letters of intent during the early signing period, while Stephanie Douglas (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King H.S.) signed this spring after spending last season at Meridian Community College (Meridian, Miss.) . . . Green, who was coached at the prep level by Ball State alum Stephanie (Stalder) Keller, and Jarrett were both selected to the 2005 Indiana High School Senior All-Star Team.
FAREWELL: Besides the huge void created by the graduation of senior Kate Endress, the Cardinals will also lose 2004-05 tri-captain junior Dana Collins, who has decided to continue her schooling at IUPUI . . . BSU assistant coach Duffy Burns has relocated to Toledo, Ohio, and will be a member of the Rockets' coaching staff next season, while director of operations Heather Cusick has returned to Europe to continue her professional playing career.
