Ball State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Returns Home Saturday
January 12, 2006 | Women's Basketball
MATCHUP AT A GLANCE:
Arena (Seating Capacity) Worthen Arena (11,500)
Tip-off 7 p.m.
Television Ball State Sports Network
Webcast WCRD FM 91.3 and WXFN 1340 AM
Series Central Michigan leads 28-22
TELEVISION: The BSU-Central Michigan game is the first of a two-game television package provided by the Ball State Sports Network . . . The game will be shown live on WIPB Muncie, Channel 2 . . . Kevin Lee will handle play-by-play duties, while former Cardinals player Julie Just will provide color commentary . . . In addition, Michael Towne will serve as the sideline reporter . . . Lee and Just are part of BSU's WXFN Radio broadcast team.
RADIO COVERAGE: The BSU-Central Michigan 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 carried by Muncie's WXFN 1340 AM, including the Central Michigan contest . . . All tournament games will also be carried by the station . . . Jay Garrison, who is in his fourth season as part of the crew, will handle play-by-play duties for this game.
BALL STATE PROBABLE STARTERS:
1 Tina Bolte G 5-7 Jr./Jr. 11.6 ppg 2.8 rpg 1.0 apg 29.3 mpg
11 Kelsey Corbin G 5-9 Jr./Jr. 9.2 ppg 3.8 rpg 4.9 apg 25.8 mpg
13 Raechelle Hampton C 6-2 Sr./Sr. 9.3 ppg 5.7 rpg 0.5 bpg 27.2 mpg
23 Erica Cotton G 5-8 Sr./Jr. 3.8 ppg 2.5 rpg 2.1 apg 21.5 mpg
14 Julie DeMuth G 5-10 So./So. 12.6 ppg 9.2 rpg 2.0 spg 27.5 mpg
OFF THE BENCH:
2 Stephanie Douglas G 5-9 Jr./Jr. 4.0 ppg 1.9 rpg 0.4 apg 10.5 mpg
3 Porchia Green G 5-8 Fr./Fr. 3.6 ppg 2.4 rpg 1.6 spg 14.0 mpg
12 Kiley Jarrett G 5-4 Fr./Fr. 3.0 ppg 1.8 rpg 3.7 apg 19.5 mpg
25 Dana Moorman F 6-0 Fr./Fr. 0.4 ppg 0.6 rpg 0.0 apg 4.3 mpg
35 Krista Stewart C 6-1 Sr./Jr. 9.8 ppg 2.8 rpg 1.2 spg 19.1 mpg
42 Lisa Rusche F 6-1 So./So. 3.0 ppg 2.8 rpg 0.4 bpg 9.7 mpg
44 Brandy Ross F 6-1 So./So. 1.3 ppg 1.2 rpg 0.2 apg 8.0 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 8-5 overall and 1-1 in Mid-American Conference play after an 81-70 victory at Western Michigan Wednesday . . . The win snapped a two-game skid for the Cardinals and also marked the end of a seven-game road trek for the team that began Dec. 10 . . . Julie DeMuth tops BSU with 12.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game . . . Tina Bolte is second in scoring with her 11.6 average, while Krista Stewart checks in at third with a 9.8 mark . . . Raechelle Hampton is second in rebounding (5.7 rpg) . . . Kelsey Corbin tops the team with a 4.9 assists average . . . Ball State averages 68.6 points and 39.3 rebounds each game, while yielding 69.1 points and 38.5 rebounds to its opponents.
INJURY UPDATE: Junior center Becca Bajorek has missed the entire season thus far due to a hip injury . . . She did, however, dress for the first time Saturday at Toledo and has been on the bench in each of the past two games.
SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Central Michigan is 9-4 overall, but 0-2 in MAC play . . . The Chippewas' nine non-league victories are the most since joining the league 25 years ago . . . Ann Skufca tops a trio of players averaging double-figure scoring marks with her 12.3 average . . . Chasidy Myers is second with an 11.6 average, followed by Casey Manning at third with 10.5 points per game . . . Skufca is also first with a 6.7 rebounding average . . . Central Michigan tops the MAC in free throw percentage (.753) plus is second in scoring defense (56.4) and blocked shots (3.9) . . . The Chippewas average 64.1 points and 38.4 rebounds per game, while giving up 56.4 points and 34.9 rebounds to its opponents.
BALL STATE VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Central Michigan owns a 28-22 lead in its series with Ball State, which began with a 70-66 BSU win Jan. 14, 1978 . . . The Chippewas garnered nearly all of their wins prior to the 1995-96 season with only three since . . . The Cardinals have won 15 of the past 17 versus CMU, including a string of 10 straight dating back to the second meeting of the 2000 MAC season . . . The two meetings between the teams in 2005 were decided by a total of four points . . . BSU won a double-overtime thriller in Muncie and then utilized a last-second shot to snare a one-point victory in Mt. Pleasant . . . The Cardinals own a 15-11 advantage in Muncie.
LAST TIME: Kate Endress scored the game's winning bucket with just 14 seconds on the clock to lead Ball State to a 68-67 victory over Central Michigan March 1, 2005, in Mt. Pleasant . . . The win gave BSU a season sweep of the Chippewas after recording an 81-78 double-overtime verdict earlier in 2005 . . . Endress led the way with a career-high 30 points . . . Tina Bolte added 10 . . . Lindy Hatfield led CMU with 18 scores . . . Candace Wilson posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
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.
HOME SWEET HOME: Ball State's game against Central Michigan marks a long-awaited return home for the Cardinals, who have been on the road for seven-straight games . . . BSU's long road journey began Dec. 10 at Butler and extended through Wednesday's tilt at Western Michigan . . . The Cardinals opened MAC play with back-to-back road games for the first time since the 1999-2000 campaign.
BALANCED BALL STATE: Ball State has had at least three players score in double figures in 10 games thus far . . . Four players reached double digits for the fifth time this season Wednesday at Western Michigan . . . BSU also accomplished the feat versus Evansville Nov. 22, against Butler Dec. 9, at Santa Clara Dec. 31 and against Toledo Jan. 7 . . . In the Toledo game, two of the four players -- Julie DeMuth (24) and Kelsey Corbin (20) scored 20 or more points . . . Five hit the double-digit plateau against North Dakota State Nov. 27 -- Krista Stewart, Kiley Jarrett, DeMuth, Corbin and Raechelle Hampton . . . All 11 players who dressed against Lipscomb scored at least three points.
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS: Sophomore Julie DeMuth is leading Ball State for the second-straight year in rebounding . . . She is averaging a MAC-best 9.2 per game . . . She has led BSU in rebounding nine times this season . . . She has posted five double-doubles in 2005-06 for a total of eight in her career . . . DeMuth had 14 points and 10 boards against Valparaiso Dec. 4 after 19 points and 14 rebounds versus Illinois State Nov. 30 . . . She had 11 points and 13 rebounds vs. North Dakota State Nov. 27 . . . Her fourth double-double effort came Dec. 31 with 17 points and 14 rebounds at Santa Clara and her latest with 24 points 13 rebounds at Toledo Saturday . . . DeMuth has 13 double-digit rebounding marks in her career and has led BSU in that category a total of 20 times . . . She also boasts 15 double-figure scoring efforts.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE/DOUBLE-DOUBLE: In its Dec. 31 game against Santa Clara, Ball State dominated the boards accumulating a season-high 54 . . . For the first time this season, BSU had two players tally double-doubles in the game -- Julie DeMuth and Raechelle Hampton . . . DeMuth had a game-high 17 points versus the Broncos plus pulled down 14 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the campaign . . . Hampton snared a career-high and game-leading 15 missed shots plus added 14 points for her first career double-double.
CORBIN TOP SERVER: Kelsey Corbin ranks first for Ball State and tied for second in the MAC with 4.9 assists per game . . . She accumulated the third double-digit assist total of her career with 11 at Western Michigan Wednesday . . . She added 14 points against the Broncos to notch her second career double-double . . . Corbin tallied the second double-digit assist total of her career with 10 in BSU's opener against Murray State . . . Her 11 dishes Wednesday ties her career high achieved against Miami March 10, 2004 . . . Corbin, who scored a season-high 20 points last Saturday at Toledo, has led the Cardinals in assists seven times this season.
PETITE DISH: Freshman Kiley Jarrett accumulated the second double-digit assist mark of her career with 10 at Wright State Dec. 17 . . . BSU's shortest player at 5-foot-4, Jarrett dished off a team season-high 11 versus Evansville Nov. 22 . . . She is currently second on the team and ninth in the MAC with 3.9 assists per game.
BENCH SUPPORT: Ball State got 33 of its 81 points Wednesday off the bench . . . Stephanie Douglas scored a career-high 12 points plus chipped in with three rebounds, two blocks and an assist in a 21-minute span . . . Krista Stewart also scored in double digits off the bench with 11, marking her sixth double-digit scoring effort of the season . . . She ranks third for BSU with a 9.8 scoring average.
OVERTIME: Ball State has had two overtime games thus far, which matches last year's total . . . The Cardinals dropped back-to-back overtime decisions to Santa clara Dec. 31 and to Toledo Jan. 7.
RECORD START: Ball State's 5-0 start to this season marked the best in school history . . . The five wins surpassed the 4-0 start of Brenda (Oldfield) Frese's 1999-2000 team . . . Four of the wins came in the friendly confines of Worthen Arena . . . Ball State's 6-1 start to the 2005-06 campaign has been bettered by just one other team in the 32-year history of women's basketball at the university . . . The 1975-76 squad began its campaign with a 7-1 record, before eventually finishing with a 13-6 mark.
WONDERFUL WORTHEN: Ball State is 47-16 in home games over the last six campaigns for a .746 rate of success . . . BSU, which is 4-1 in home contests this season, finished with an 8-5 mark at home 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 . . . 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 game at home Saturday vs. Central Michigan has been moved to a 7 p.m. starting time to accommodate television . . . The game will be broadcast by the Ball State Sports Network as part of a two-game package.
TV SCHEDULE SET: Ball State is scheduled to have two games aired by the Ball State Sports Network -- Jan. 14 vs. Central Michigan and Feb. 15 against Toledo . . . In addition, the Cardinals will appear on FSN Ohio Jan. 31 at Ohio and on Comcast Local Feb. 28 versus Northern Illinois.
MAC PRESEASON POLL: In the 2005-06 MAC News Media Association Preseason Poll, Ball State was picked to finish third in the West Division . . . Eastern Michigan was tabbed as the favorite in the West with 132 points, including 20 first-place votes . . . Western Michigan was second (99), followed by BSU (86), Toledo (83), Northern Illinois (44) and Central Michigan (39) . . . Bowling Green, the 2005 MAC Tournament and regular-season champs, is the favorite in its division with 132 points, including 17 first-place tallies . . . Kent State was second (117), followed by Miami (93), Ohio (68), Buffalo (40) and Akron (33) . . . BGSU, which move back to the East Division at the advent of this school year, is the favorite to win the tournament with 15 points, followed by Kent State with five, Eastern Michigan with four and Western Michigan with one point.
FORMIDABLE FOE: When Ball State traveled to Duke Dec. 19, it faced 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, which currently ranks second in both polls, 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.
DEMUTH GARNERS MAC AWARD: Julie DeMuth was honored for the first time in her career with her selection as Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week Dec. 5 . . . She gained the award after averaging 16.5 points and 12 rebounds over a two-game span . . . DeMuth notched her second and third-straight double-doubles of the season -- the fifth and sixth of her career -- with 19 points and 14 rebounds in a win over Illinois State Nov. 30 and then 14 points and 10 boards in a loss versus Valparaiso Dec. 4.
THE TRACY ROLLER SHOW: The Tracy Roller Show takes place each Monday night from 6 - 7 p.m. at Johnny Carino's in Muncie . . . The show, in its second season, is carried live on WCRD -- BSU's student-run radio station . . . Nathan Rausch, Joel Nickels and Kyle Trompeter host the show, which can be heard live on the web at www.ballstatesports.com.
BSU CAPTURES CLASSIC: BSU captured the championship of the first-ever Ball State Credit Union Classic Nov. 26-27 . . . 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 . . . With its championship in the Classic, the Cardinals have captured non-conference tournament titles in each of the past four seasons -- all under head coach Tracy Roller and are 11-5 record in non-conference tournament competition.
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 -- Erica Cotton, Stephanie Douglas, Raechelle Hampton and Brandy Ross . . . Three more hail from the state of Ohio -- Becca Bajorek (Columbus), Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati) and 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.
IT'S ACADEMIC: The fall 2005 fall grading period marked the fifth-straight semester the Ball State women's basketball team has combined for a better than 3.00 grade-point average . . . The 13-member squad tallied a 3.09 GPA for the term . . . The team posted a 3.10 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 2005-06 team boasts an overall cumulative GPA of 3.07 with nine members netting 3.0 or higher marks . . . Kelsey Corbin tops the squad with a 3.69 cumulative GPA, followed by Tina Bolte at 3.49, Dana Moorman at 3.48, Becca Bajorek at 3.40, Lisa Rusche at 3.22, Raechelle Hampton at 3.16, Brandy Ross at 3.15, Julie DeMuth at 3.10 and Kiley Jarrett at 3.0.
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.
