Ball State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Uses Second Half Spurt To Down Wright State, 75-68
November 18, 2006 | Women's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State women's basketball team once again posted a strong second half effort to secure a come-from-behind victory as the Cardinals picked up a 75-68 victory over Wright State in their home opener at Worthen Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Cardinals used a 24-7 run in the second half as they rallied from seven points down to improve to 2-0 on the young campaign. BSU connected on six straight three-pointers during the run to assume control of the game.
"We were resilient today as we worked through the ups and downs in the game and played as a team down the stretch," head coach Tracy Roller said. "Julie (DeMuth) provided us some consistent scoring, Tina (Bolte) gave us a great spark in the second half and Porchia (Green) was all over the court on defense."
Junior Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville H.S.), a preseason All-MAC selection, led the Cardinals' to the victory as she posted her first double-double of the year. She scored a season-high 21 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. She was six-of-nine from the field, including two three-pointers, while going seven-of-eight from the charity stripe. The double-double was the 14th of her career tying her with former BSU standout Kate Endress for third all-time in career double dips.
Ball State began the game slowly as it fell behind by as many as nine points on three separate occasions. The Cardinals posted a 9-2 run to pull within a basket and took their first lead of the game at 27-26 off of an old-fashioned three-point play by DeMuth.
BSU went ahead by as many as four in the first half as freshman Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo H.S.) connected on a three-pointer to take a 34-30 lead. Wright State stayed with the Cardinals as it went into the half down by just one point at, 37-36.
Ball State shot 12-of-24 from the field in the first half but it connected on just three-of-nine from three-point land. Wright State cooled off from the fast start and hit 13-of-28 from the field in the half and forced BSU into 13 first half turnovers.
Wright State (0-1) came out in the second half and went on an 8-2 run to re-take the lead. The Raiders continued to push BSU as it took a 50-43 lead eight minutes into the second frame. The Cardinals responded to the adversity as they rattled off a 24-7 run over the next seven minutes to take its largest lead of the day at 67-57.
BSU started the run with six straight points to pull within one as senior Becca Bajorek (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales H.S.) and Kelsey Corbin (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop H.S.) sparked the run with back-to-back baskets. The Cardinals threw the offense into high gear and took control of the game as they exploded for six consecutive three-pointers in a seven minute stretch to take the 10-point lead. Senior Tina Bolte (Columbus, Ind./North H.S.) and DeMuth each added a pair of three-pointers while sophomores Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington H.S.) and Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North H.S.) connected on one each to give BSU the lead for good.
Wright State attempted to make a comeback but each basket was answered by a BSU score to negate the rally. The Cardinals hit on all four free throws in the final minute of the game to seal the victory.
Ball State finished the night shooting 50 percent (25-of-50) from the field in the game and 50 percent (nine-of-18) from three-point land with the six second half three-pointers leading the charge. Wright State finished 25-of-58 (43.1 percent) from the field in the loss.
The Cardinals used a balanced attack as eight different players scored at least six points in the victory. Corbin finished with 10 points as she was four-of-six from the field and dished out three assists. Green had an all-around strong effort as she finished with nine points, a career-high five assists, four steals and three rebounds. Jarrett added eight points and four assists off of the bench.
Ball State had four different players score six points in the victory with Bolte, McDonald, Bajorek and junior Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills H.S.) each reaching the mark. Wright State was led by Whitney Lewis who finished with 19 points while Tyanda Hammock and Brittney Whiteside each added 15 points in the loss.
The Cardinals will be back in action next weekend as they host the second annual BSU Credit Union Thanksgiving Tournament at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals will play Howard in the opening game on Saturday at
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