Ball State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Cruises Past the Ohio Legends, 69-44
November 01, 2006 | Women's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State women's basketball team opened its 2006-07 season on Wednesday night with a 69-44 victory over the Ohio Legends in an exhibition game at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals used a strong start to put the Legends away quickly as BSU ran out to a 30-2 lead to open the game.
"We got off to a great start tonight but I was even more impressed with how well we responded to a couple of rough spots in the game," head coach Tracy Roller said. "This was an impressive team performance for this early in the year. We still have some things to work on but it was good to get out on the floor and play against another team."
The Cardinals used a team effort in their first action of the season as nine different players tallied points, including six players with at least seven points. Junior forward Julie DeMuth led the charge as she recorded a double-double with a team-high 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Ball State defense held the Legends without a point for the first six-plus minutes and without a field goal for the first 13-plus minutes. The Cardinals scored the first 16 points of the game as they started quickly with a three-pointer 45 seconds in from freshman guard Audrey McDonald. Senior guard Kelsey Corbin quarterbacked the offense in the early going as she picked up assists on four of the Cardinals' first five field goals.
The Cardinals extended their lead to 30-2 at the
Ball State dominated the first half as it connected on 13-of-24 (54.2%) from the field in the half, including four-of-eight from three-point land. DeMuth led the charge with 10 points in the opening stanza while McDonald added seven early points. The Cardinal defense held the Legends to just 18.8 percent shooting from the field and forced 14 first half turnovers.
The Cardinals opened the second half where they left off of the first as they extended their lead to 27 points after a pair of three-pointers from senior Tina Bolte and sophomore Kiley Jarrett. The Legends made a run and pulled within 16 points at 60-44 but BSU closed out the game with a 9-0 run. The run was highlighted by a DeMuth three-pointer and four points from Jarrett to cap off the 25-point victory.
Ball State finished the night 21-of-52 (54.2%) from the field and eight-of-20 (40%) from three-point land. BSU dished out 16 assists on 21 field goals in the victory as Corbin recorded a game-high six helpers. The Legends were held to just 24.6 percent shooting from the field on the night and were forced into 24 turnovers by the BSU defense.
Forward Lisa Rusche finished tied for second on the team in scoring with 10 points as she was a perfect four-of-four from the field and two-of-two from the charity stripe. Corbin added 10 points while McDonald chipped in seven points. Guards Bolte and Jarrett each chipped in nine points a piece in the balanced attack.
The Legends were led by Larecha Jones who scored a game-high 19 points on the strength of 10-of-10 shooting from the free throw line. Danea Williams added nine points and seven rebounds in the loss for the Legends.
Ball State will hold one more exhibition game this year as the Cardinals welcome in the Hoosier Stars on Thursday Nov. 9. Game time is set for
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