Ball State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts Wright State In Home Opener Today
November 17, 2006 | Women's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals open the home portion of the 2006-07 schedule this afternoon as they welcome Wright State to Worthen Arena in a non-conference affair.
Home Openers . . .
This is Ball State's 33rd home opener in program history and the Cardinals are 17-15 all-time in those games. The Cardinals opened the home season last year with a 76-69 victory over Evansville. BSU has faced Wright State once in a home opener with the Cardinals taking an 89-54 victory over the Raiders in the 2001-2002 opener.
Series History . . .
Today's game is the 10th meeting all-time between Ball State and Wright State. The Cardinals hold a 5-4 advantage in the series history, including wins in four of the last five seasons. Last season, the Cardinals dropped a 77-74 decision at Wright State when the Raiders connected on a three-pointer as time expired.
BSU is 2-1 against the Raiders at Worthen Arena with an 89-54 victory in WSU's last visit to Muncie during the 2001-02 season.
2005-06
Wright State 77 (H), Ball State 74
2002-03
Ball State 82, Wright State 46 (H)
2001-02
Ball State 89 (H), Wright State 54
2000-01
Ball State 102, Wright State 73 (H)
1999-00
Ball State 70 (H), Wright State 60
1998-99
Wright State 62 (H), Ball State 54
1997-98
Wright State 73, Ball State 64 (H)
1989-90
Ball State 85, Wright State 49 (N)
1981-82
Wright State 79 (H), Ball State 70
A Look Back . . .
The Cardinals opened the 2006-07 regular season in impression fashion on Monday night as they rallied from a 13-point first half deficit to knock off Big Ten foe Michigan, 62-58. The victory is the first ever for BSU over the Wolverines and the first for the Cardinals against a team from the Big Ten since the 2002-03 season.
Ball State played an inspired second half to complete the comeback as it shot 62.5 percent from the field in the second frame and connected on six-of-eight from three-point land.
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin spurred the attack as she scored a game-high 16 points, including 111 in the second half. She connected on six-of-eight from the field in the game as well as four-of-six from the charity stripe.
Freshman guard Audrey McDonald poured in 14 points as a starter in her collegiate debut. She scored 12 second half points to key the comeback, including four three-pointers. She connected on three long-range shots in the Cardinals' 16-0 run that gave BSU the lead for good.
Classmate Kalynne Proctor also reached double figures in her collegiate debut as she finished with 10 points on four-of-six shooting. Sophomore guard Kiley Jarrett chipped in nine points while junior Julie DeMuth scored six points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.
History in the Making . . .
One game into the season and the Cardinals have already made some history. For the first time in program history, BSU had two true freshmen score in double figures in their collegiate debuts when Audrey McDonald and Kalynne Proctor recorded the feat against Michigan on Monday night. McDonald scored 14 points while Proctor added 10 points. They are the first set of freshmen to reach double figures in the first career game in the 33-year history of Cardinal women's basketball.
Corbin Honored . . .
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin picked up Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week honors on Wednesday afternoon for her efforts against Michigan. The weekly honor is the first of her career for Corbin and she becomes the first Cardinal to win the award since Julie DeMuth took home the accolades last December.
Corbin led all scorers against the Wolverines with 16 points to guide the Cardinals to a four-point victory at Ann Arbor, Mich.
Scouting the Cardinals . . .
The Cardinals enter today's game with a 1-0 record as they are coming off of a 62-58 victory at Michigan. BSU shot 45.5 percent from the field against the Wolverines and 42.9 percent from three-point land. The Cardinals were out-rebounded by a 29-28 margin in the Michigan game as well.
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin leads the team in scoring at 16 points per game. Freshman Audrey McDonald is second at 14 points per game while classmate Kalynne Proctor is third at 10 points per game. Sophomore Kiley Jarrett scored nine points against Michigan while junior Julie DeMuth led the Cardinals with seven rebounds.
Exhibition Season . . .
The Cardinals posted a 2-0 record in exhibition play and head coach Tracy Roller is now 9-3 all-time in exhibition games. BSU picked up a 25-point victory over the Ohio Legends and a 93-89 victory over the Hoosier Lady Stars in their final tune-up for the regular season.
Against the Hoosier Stars, the Cardinals had five different players score in double figures, including a double-double from junior Julie DeMuth. DeMuth scored a team-high 22 points on seven-of-12 shooting and also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Freshman Kalynne Proctor scored 15 points in just 19 minutes of action while Audrey McDonald added 14 points on the strength of four three-pointers. BSU as a team connected on 12-of-20 from three-point land as three different Cardinals notched at least three three-pointers apiece.
In the Ohio Legends game, BSU scored the first 16 points of the game and jumped out to a 30-2 lead to cruise to the victory. DeMuth recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds while senior Kelsey Corbin added 10 points and six assists. Junior forward Lisa Rusche added 10 points as she was four-of-four from the floor and two-of-two from the charity stripe.
Scouting Wright State . . .
Wright State opens its 2006-07 regular season this afternoon against the Cardinals. The Raiders played an exhibition game on Monday night as they dropped a 79-57 game to Athletes in Action.
Four Raiders scored in double figures in the loss as guard Brittney Whiteside led her team with 15 points on five-of-15 shooting from the field. Three players finished with 10 points apiece with Whitney Lewis, Tyanda Hammock and Erica Richardson each reaching that mark. The Raiders finished the night shooting 38.9 percent from the field and just 25 percent from three-point land.
Last season, Wright State finished with a 12-16 record overall and an 8-8 record in the Horizon League. The Raiders return four starters from last season's team and seven letterwinners overall for head coach Bridgett Williams' squad.
Preseason Prognosticators . . .
Ball State was picked to finish third in the Mid-American Conference West Division in the preseason poll conducted by league coaches and members of the MAC News Media Association.
Ball State received 157 total votes including six first place votes in the West Division as four different teams garnered first place tallies. Defending divisional champion Easter Michigan was picked to finish first in the West with 241 total votes and 21 first place votes while Western Michigan was tabbed for second with 188 votes and eight first place picks. Northern Illinois, Toledo and Central Michigan round out the preseason poll for the West Division.
Defending MAC Champion and NCAA Tournament participant Bowling Green was picked to repeat in the East Division with 245 total votes and 40 first place votes. Kent State was tabbed for second while Miami, Ohio, Buffalo and Akron round out the East Division predictions. Bowling Green was also picked to win the 2007 MAC Tournament.
Double-Trouble . . .
Junior Julie DeMuth led the Mid-American Conference in double-doubles last season as she posted 10 double dips as a sophomore. DeMuth comes into her junior season with 13 career double-doubles. She is fourth all-time in Cardinals' history in double-doubles and she needs just one double-double to move into a tie for third all-time with former BSU great Kate Endress.
Below is a list of the all-time double-doubles in BSU history:
Emma Jones - 49
Tamara Bowie - 31
Kate Endress - 14
Julie DeMuth - 13
Countdown to 100 . . .
Head coach Tracy Roller enters her sixth season as the helm of the Cardinals and brings a 92-59 record into the game. She is already the all-time winningest coach in BSU women's basketball history. She needs just eight wins to become just the third basketball coach as Ball State, men's or women's, to reach 100 career victories with the Cardinals.
Owning the Glass . . .
Junior guard Julie DeMuth led the Cardinals and the Mid-American Conference in rebounding last season with 249 boards. DeMuth became just the fourth Cardinal all-time to lead the MAC in rebounding joining the likes of Jessica Reiter (2004-05), Christy Jones (1999-00) and Karen Bauer (1981-82).
DeMuth's 249 rebounds were the eighth most in a single season at BSU. She enters the year 15th all-time in career rebounds with 458 boards.
10th - Alana Hancock (586)
11th - Glena Rusch (540)
12th - Lisa Hicks (501)
13th - Amy Zercher (500)
14th - Dianne McConnell (475)
15th - Julie DeMuth (465)
It's Trey Day . . .
Senior Tina Bolte led the Cardinals last season with 67 three-pointers made on the year. Her 67 three-pointers were the fifth most in a single season at BSU and she enters the year fifth all-time in career-three-pointers made with 132. She needs just 20 three-pointers to move into the top three long-range shooters all-time at Ball State.
1st - Johna Goff (253)
2nd - Kate Endress (205
3rd - Markita Griffin (152)
4th - Alana Hancock (139
5th - Tina Bolte (132)
Lending a Helping Hand . . .
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin led the team in assists last year as she dished out 115 helpers. She moved into eighth place all-time with 288 assists with her two helpers against Michigan on Monday. She can become just the seventh Cardinal to reach the 300-assist plateau with 12 more helpers.
5th - Jane Emkes (346)
6th - Alana Hancock (302)
7th - Michelle Baker (298)
8th - Kelsey Corbin (288)
9th - Summer Armstrong (287)
Radio Air Time . . .
The Cardinals will again have most of their games broadcast on the student station WCRD 91.3, including both exhibition games. All games broadcast by WCRD will also be streamed online at www.ballstatesports.com. Kyle Trompeter, Karl Mandik and Joel Nickels will do the honors for WCRD.
Ball State will also have 15 regular season games broadcast on Muncie's WXFN 1340 AM this season. Jay Garrison will handle the play-by-play duties this season. The 15 games broadcast on WXFN are:
Nov. 18 - Wright State
Nov. 25 - Howard
Nov. 26 - BSU Credit Union
Dec. 2 at Butler
Dec. 10 vs. Valparaiso
Dec. 18 at Indiana
Jan. 3 - Toledo
Jan. 6 - Western Michigan
Jan. 17 - Northern Illinois
Jan. 20 - Miami
Jan. 27 - Ohio
Feb. 11 - Kent State
Feb. 17 at Western Michigan
Feb. 21 - Central Michigan
Feb. 24 - Eastern Michigan
MAC TOURNAMENT
Tracy Roller Show . . .
Head coach Tracy Roller will once again be on the air this season on WCRD and on www.ballstatesports.com with the Tracy Roller Show. The show will air on Monday evenings at 7 p.m. starting in December and will air live from Johnny Carino's on McGalliard.
Corbin's Corner . . .
Cardinal fans can get an inside look at the BSU women's basketball team this season from Corbin's Corner. Senior guard Kelsey Corbin has been keeping an online journal through the entire preseason and will continue throughout her senior campaign on www.ballstatesports.com. Check out the weekly journal that updates each Friday afternoon.
Cardinal Schedule . . .
Ball State has a challenging 27-game schedule for the upcoming 2006-07 season. The schedule includes non-conference games against teams from the Big Ten, Horizon League and Conference USA as well as the Mid-Eastern, Independent, Big South, Missouri Valley, Metro-Atlantic and Atlantic 10 conferences. The Cardinals will also have a 16-game Mid-American Conference schedule this season.
The slate includes games against six teams that advanced to the postseason in 2006, including NCAA Tournament teams Tulsa and Bowling Green as well as WNIT participants Indiana, Xavier, Charlotte and Eastern Michigan. The Cardinals will also face nine teams that finished last season with an RPI of 150 or better, including seven against teams rated in the top 100 in RPI.
New Face On the Staff . . .
The Cardinals added a new member to the coaching staff this year as Rekha Hollomon joined the family. Hollomon comes to the Cardinals after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois.
Looking Ahead . . .
The Cardinals will continue their three-game home stretch next weekend as they host the second annual Ball State Federal Credit Union Thanksgiving Tournament. The Cardinals will face Howard in the opening game of the tournament on Saturday at 1 p.m. while IPFW and Coastal Carolina will meet in the second game at 3 p.m. The consolation game of the tournament is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. while the championship game will be at 3 p.m.
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