Ball State University Athletics
Women's Basketball at Western Michigan Wednesday
January 09, 2006 | Women's Basketball
MATCHUP AT A GLANCE:
Arena (Seating Capacity) University Arena (5,649)
Tip-off 7 p.m.
Television none
Webcast WCRD FM 91.3
Series Western Michigan leads 31-21
RADIO COVERAGE: The BSU-Western 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.
BALL STATE PROBABLE STARTERS:
1 Tina Bolte G 5-7 Jr./Jr. 10.8 ppg 2.8 rpg 1.0 apg 29.6 mpg
11 Kelsey Corbin G 5-9 Jr./Jr. 8.8 ppg 3.7 rpg 4.4 apg 25.5 mpg
13 Raechelle Hampton C 6-2 Sr./Sr. 9.9 ppg 5.9 rpg 0.5 bpg 28.1 mpg
23 Erica Cotton G 5-8 Sr./Jr. 3.9 ppg 2.4 rpg 2.2 apg 21.8 mpg
14 Julie DeMuth G 5-10 So./So. 13.0 ppg 9.3 rpg 2.0 spg 27.2 mpg
OFF THE BENCH:
2 Stephanie Douglas G 5-9 Jr./Jr. 3.2 ppg 1.8 rpg 0.4 apg 9.5 mpg
3 Porchia Green G 5-8 Fr./Fr. 3.5 ppg 2.7 rpg 1.7 spg 13.7 mpg
12 Kiley Jarrett G 5-4 Fr./Fr. 3.1 ppg 1.9 rpg 3.9 apg 20.1 mpg
25 Dana Moorman F 6-0 Fr./Fr. 0.5 ppg 0.7 rpg 0.0 apg 4.7 mpg
35 Krista Stewart C 6-1 Sr./Jr. 9.7 ppg 2.8 rpg 1.3 spg 19.2 mpg
42 Lisa Rusche F 6-1 So./So. 2.9 ppg 2.6 rpg 0.5 apg 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 is 7-5 overall and 0-1 in Mid-American Conference play after an 83-79 overtime loss at Toledo Saturday . . . Julie DeMuth tops the team with 13.0 points, 9.3 rebounds -- first in the MAC -- and 2.0 steals per game . . . Tina Bolte is second in scoring with her 10.8 average . . . Raechelle Hampton and Krista Stewart are just shy of double-digits in scoring with 9.9 and 9.7 averages, respectively . . . Hampton's 5.9 rebounding average is second on the team . . . Kelsey Corbin tops BSU with 4.4 assists per game . . . The Cardinals average 67.6 points and 39.4 rebounds, while yielding 69 points and 38.8 rebounds to their opponents . . . BSU leads the league in assists (15.3), assist/turnover ratio (0.95) and offensive rebounds (15.7).
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.
SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN: Western Michigan is 4-8 overall and 1-0 in the MAC after opening league play with a 58-50 home victory over Central Michigan Saturday . . . Lindsey Brown leads a trio of Broncos averaging double-figure scoring marks with 16.8 points per game . . . Casey Rost is second at 15.5, while Carrie Moore is third with her 14.7 average . . . Brown is also first with 9.3 rebounds a game . . . Rost was the 2004 MAC Player of the Year, while Moore was a first-team all-league selection last season . . . The Broncos average 69.2 points and 37.7 rebounds a game, while surrendering 73.5 points and 40.2 rebounds to their opponents . . . WMU is first in the MAC in scoring plus is second in field goal percentage (.426).
BALL STATE VS. WESTERN MICHIGAN: Ball State and Western Michigan have met 52 times in a series, which originated during BSU's first as an intercollegiate sport at the university . . . The Broncos posted a 78-67 win in that initial meeting March 7, 1975 . . . The Broncos lead the series 31-21 . . . BSU won a string of four straight from 2001-2003, but WMU countered with wins in the succeeding three meetings . . . The Cardinals were victorious in the last meeting -- 79-70 Jan. 26, 2005, in Kalamazoo . . . Western Michigan is 16-7 in games played in Kalamazoo . . . Ball State is 3-3 versus the Broncos during head coach Tracy Roller's tenure.
LAST TIME: Ball State led 38-32 at the half and never looked back in snagging a 79-70 victory over Western Michigan Jan. 26, 2005, in Kalamazoo . . . Kate Endress led all scorers with 28 points plus added a double-double with her 10 rebounds . . . Tina Bolte was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 10 points . . . Kelsey Corbin pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds . . . Western Michigan had four players score in double figures with Kelly Koerber's 16 leading the way . . . Carrie Moore also had a double-double with 15 points and 10 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.
ROAD WARRIORS: When Ball State plays at Western Michigan Wednesday, it will mark the end of a seven-game road journey for the Cardinals that began Dec. 10 at Butler . . . The seven-game trek included a date at No. 2 Duke plus a pair of games in California . . . It also marked the first time since the 1999-2000 campaign BSU has opened MAC play with two-successive road games . . . The Cardinals opened their 2005-06 season on the road, but then returned home to Muncie to enjoy the friendly confines of Worthen Arena for the next five games . . . BSU is 4-1 in home games this season.
BALANCED BALL STATE: Ball State has had at least three players score in double figures in nine games thus far . . . Four players reached double digits versus Evansville Nov. 22, against Butler Dec. 9, at Santa Clara Dec. 31 and against Toledo Saturday . . . 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 9.3 per game . . . Her 4.0 offensive rebounds each game are also first . . . She has led BSU in rebounding eight times this season . . . She has posted five double-doubles this season 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 19 times . . . She also boasts 15 double-figure scoring efforts in her career.
BOARD BATTLE: Wednesday's Ball State-Western Michigan clash features the top-two rebounders in the MAC . . . Julie DeMuth is tops with her 9.3 average, while the Broncos' Lindsey Brown is second at 9.2 . . . DeMuth is the league's top offensive rebounder with 4.0 a game, while Brown is first in defensive boards with a 7.0 average . . . Brown and DeMuth place third and 14th, respectively, in the league in scoring with 16.8 and 13.0 averages . . . Also in rebounding, WMU's Carrie Moore ranks ninth, while BSU's Hampton places 17th.
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.
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 4.0 assists per game.
MORE DISH: Kelsey Corbin ranks first for Ball State and fifth in the MAC with 4.4 assists per game . . . She tallied the second double-digit assist total of her career with 10 in BSU's opener against Murray State . . . She handed out a career-high 11 versus Miami March 10, 2004 . . . Corbin, who scored a season-high 20 points Saturday at Toledo, has led the Cardinals in assists six times this season.
OVERTIME: Ball State has had two overtime games thus far, which matches last year's total . . . The Cardinals have dropped back-to-back overtime decisions to Santa clara Dec. 31 and to Toledo Saturday . . .
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: The Cardinals 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.
