Ball State University Athletics
Women's Hoops Lose Heartbreaker at Toledo
January 07, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Ball State started slow, but ended the game in a fury. Still, the Cardinals came up short, dropping an 83-79 overtime decision at Toledo Saturday in the 2006 Mid-American Conference opener for both teams. Julie DeMuth notched her fifth double-double of the season with a game and season-high 24 points plus 13 rebounds.
Ball State struck first -- 32 seconds into the game -- with the front end of a free throw by Raechelle Hampton. The one-point advantage turned out to be Ball State's only of the game as Danielle Bishop countered with a jumper to put Toledo on top for the remainder of the period save one tie at 6-6 on an old fashioned 3-point play by DeMuth at the 15:17 mark. The Rockets responded with a 9-0 run to go up 15-6 at the 12:33 mark. Lisa Rusche's baseline jumper with 12:01 remaining broke a 3:16 Cardinals' scoring drought. The closest BSU would come from that point was within two points on a back-to-back jumper and long trey by DeMuth cutting UT's advantage to 17-15 with 8:22 on the clock. DeMuth almost single-handedly kept the Cardinals in the game, scoring 11-straight points during one stretch in the period.
Toledo converted nearly 60 percent (16-of-28) of its field goals over the first 20 minutes, while BSU made good on 45 (13-of-29) percent of its shots. The Cardinals took advantage of every opportunity on the line with a 4-of-4 showing. DeMuth finished the half with a game-high 16 points. She also pulled down a game-best seven boards.
In the second half, Toledo built a nine-point lead at 52-43 on a long trey by Kristi Zeller with 9:20 left on the clock. The teams traded baskets for the next several minutes before a 4-0 BSU run, including a pair of free tosses by DeMuth plus a jumper by Erica Cotton, put the Cardinals within five points at 61-56 with 3:20 remaining, setting up a battle the rest of the way.DeMuth made a put back to get BSU within four points at 67-63 with under 1:30 left. Then Kelsey Corbin made good on a layup and a free throw to get the Cardinals within two points with just over a minute on the clock. Tina Bolte pared UT's lead to one point at 70-69 with her long 3-pointer with just seven seconds remaining.
After one free throw by UT's Danielle Bishop, Corbin hit a driving layup to send the game into overtime. Bishop hit a jumper for Toledo off the jump ball to begin the overtime. A pair of free throws by Savannah Werner gave the Rockets a four-point lead. Corbin found the net with a layup to get Ball State within two points. The teams traded baskets and the Cardinals missed two opportunities to tie the score off of steals. The Rockets closed out the game by converting four-straight free throw tries.
"We just didn't have a good start," BSU head coach Tracy Roller said. "This was a game we should have won, but we didn't come out tonight ready to play. That's a lesson learned. I am proud, however, of the way we played in the second half. I can't say enough about the heart of this team. Julie was amazing tonight and Kelsey got us into the overtime."
DeMuth's 24 points was tops of four BSU players who reached double figures. Corbin added a season-high 20 points, 18 of which came after the first 20 minutes of the game. Hampton and Cotton chipped in with 11 each. Werner and Bishop led Toledo with 19 each. The Rockets posted a 45-35 advantage on the boards and forced BSU into one more turnover at 17.
Ball State, which dropped its second-straight overtime decision, falls to 7-5 overall and 0-1 in MAC play, while Toledo moves to 6-5 and 1-0. The Cardinals wrap up a seven-game road swing Wednesday at Western Michigan.
