Ball State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Victorious in Homecoming
January 14, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Ball State returned home to Muncie Saturday for its first women's basketball game since Dec. 4. When all was said and done, the Cardinals had outlasted Central Michigan 57-47 for the win. Stephanie Douglas bettered her previous career high set Wednesday at Western Michigan with a game-leading 14 points as BSU improved to 9-5 overall and 2-1 in Mid-American Conference play.
Central Michigan scored first and after a brief tie on Raechelle Hampton's layup, the Chippewas held onto the lead for the first 10:18 of the half. Ball State countered with an 8-0 run, including a layup by Lisa Rusche giving the Cardinals a brief lead. After Dana Westerover's layup put CMU back up 18-17, Tina Bolte knocked down a long three with 7:50 remaining in the period to give Ball State a lead it would not relinquish.
BSU took a 30-25 advantage into the break, thanks to a 52.2 (12-of-23) showing from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers. Central Michigan, on the other hand, was held to .357 (10-of-28) from the field. Otherwise, the teams stats were nearly identical with both accumulating 16 rebounds and both turning the ball over 10 times.
Identical to the first half, Central Michigan was first to score in the second. Casey Manning's layup after Ann Skufca's block got her team within three points with 1:25 elapsed. A 9-2 run gave Ball State its first double-digit advantage of the game -- 39-29 -- with 11:51 on the clock. The Cardinals took their largest lead on a layup by Hampton to go up 43-30 at the 9:11 mark. After the Chippewas sliced their deficit to six points, BSU answered with a pair of free tosses by Douglas and Bolte's second 3-pointer of the day. Central once again got within six points at the 3:12 mark, but the Cardinals responded with two-straight buckets by Julie DeMuth to go back up by 10.
Central Michigan was held to a frigid 6-of-24 showing (25 percent) from the floor in the second half for a 30.8 (16-of-52) mark for the game. BSU converted 46 (21-of-46) percent of its shots over the 40 minute span. The Cardinals forced Central Michigan into the third-highest turnover mark for an opponent this season at 21. However, BSU had a season-high 24 of its own miscues. Ball State posted a 37-32 advantage on the boards.
"We did what we had to do to get out of here with a win," BSU head coach Tracy Roller said. "I never felt comfortable. We just wanted to get the lead and keep it. We struggled against their zone and, really, created many of our own turnovers. Stephanie Douglas played her best game here at Ball State. She is hard to guard off the dribble and she was especially active against their zone."
Besides her 14 points, Douglas accumulated four rebounds, a career-high three assists and personal-high four steals in 24 minutes of work. Bolte reached double digits for the eighth time this season with 12. All 10 Ball State players who saw action scored at least one point in the contest. Hampton pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
Skufca led Central Michigan with 11 points and three assists. Chasidy Myers and Sharonda Hurd had nine each. Hurd notched a game-high eight rebounds.
Ball State (9-5; 2-1) remains in Muncie for a date against Eastern Michigan, the MAC West Division Preseason favorite, Wednesday at 7 p.m. Central Michigan falls to 9-5 overall and 0-3 in league play.
