Ball State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts BSU Credit Union Thanksgiving Tournament This Weekend
November 24, 2006 | Women's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals open the second annual BSU Credit Union Thanksgiving Tournament Saturday as they take on Howard in game one of the weekend. Game two will feature Coastal Carolina against IPFW. The winners of Saturday's games will face off on Sunday at 3 p.m. in the championship game while the losers of Saturday's games will play in the consolation game at 1 p.m.
Series History vs. Howard . . .
Saturday's game is the first every meeting between the Cardinals and the Howard Lady Bison. Howard is one of two teams on Ball State's schedule that the Cardinals have never faced with the other team being Coastal Carolina.
Tournament History . . .
Ball State enters the second annual BSU Credit Union Thanksgiving Tournament as the defending champions. The Cardinals took home the inaugural tournament championship with victories over Lipscomb and North Dakota State last season.
Julie DeMuth picked up Tournament Most Valuable Player honors as she averaged 10.5 points, 12 rebounds and four steals per game. She posted a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds against North Dakota State in the championship game in just 24 minutes of action.
Guard Kelsey Corbin almost pulled off a double-double in the championship game as well as she scored 10 points and dished out a tournament-best eight assists.
A Look Back . . .
The Cardinals opened the home portion of the 2006-07 season last weekend with a 75-68 victory over Wright State. Ball State used a 24-7 run in the second half to take the lead for good against the Raiders. The Cardinals hit six straight three-pointers during the run to move to 2-0 on the young season.
Junior Julie DeMuth posted her first double-double of the season as she scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. She connected on six-of-nine from the field and seven-of-eight from the charity stripe in the game. The Cardinals shot 50 percent from both the field and three-point land in the victory.
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin scored 10 points on four-of-six shooting while sophomore Kiley Jarrett chipped in eight points. Sophomore guard Porchia Green had a strong all-around game with nine points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds.
Midseason Tournaments . . .
This weekend's tournament marks the 11th straight season that Ball State has participated in a multi-day midseason tournament and the 21st time in the last 23 seasons. The Cardinals have posted recent success in multi-day tournaments as BSU has claimed a tournament championship in four straight seasons.
The BSU Credit Union Thanksgiving Tournament marks the third time that the Cardinals have hosted a midseason event. Ball State hosted the inaugural Credit Union Tournament last season while BSU hosted the Cardinal Roundball Fest in the 1990-91 season. That year, the Cardinals picked up the tournament championship as well.
Tournament Championships
2005-06
BSU Credit Union Thanksgiving
2004-05
Seton Hall Tournament
2003-04
East Carolina Invitational
2002-03
Lehigh Tournament
1999-2000
Minnesota Regal Classic
C. of Charleston Thanksgiving
1997-98
Beach Blast Tourney
1990-91
Cardinal Roundball Fest
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.
Road Warriors . . .
The Cardinals will wrap up their season-high three-game home stand with this weekend's tournament. Ball State will embark on a seven-game road trip in the month of December as BSU will not be back in Worthen Arena until its Mid-American Conference opener against Toledo on January 3.
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 are 2-0 heading into the BSU Credit Union Thanksgiving Tournament with wins at Michigan and at home against Wright State. Ball State is shooting 47.9 percent from the field this season, including 46.9 percent from three-point land.
Junior Julie DeMuth leads the team in scoring and rebounding as she averages 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest. Senior Kelsey Corbin is second on the team in scoring at 13 points per game while freshman Audrey McDonald averages 10 points per game.
Sophomore guard Porchia Green leads the team by averaging 34 minutes per game while averaging four points, 4.5 rebounds, four assists and three steals per game this season.
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 Howard . . .
Howard enters the weekend with an 0-5 record on the year as the Lady Bison have dropped games to Virginia Tech, Louisiana State, West Virginia, Seton Hall and Navy. The Lady Bison have dropped all five games by an average margin of 23 points.
Guard Shannon Carlisle leads the team in scoring at 18.2 points per game on the year. She has gone to the line a team-high 29 times this season and is converting on 75.9 percent from the charity stripe. She leads the team with 19 steals and 19 assists.
Guard Christina Aden is second on the team in scoring at 12.2 points per game. Howard has had 14 different players score in the first five games this season with nine players scoring at least 10 points on the year.
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 posted her first double-double of the 2006-07 season last weekend against Wright State as she scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. She enter's today's game with 14 career double-doubles as she is tied for third all-time in BSU history in career double dips with former BSU standout Kate Endress.
Below is a list of the all-time double-doubles in BSU history:
Emma Jones - 49
Tamara Bowie - 31
Julie DeMuth - 14
Kate Endress - 14
Countdown to 100 . . .
Head coach Tracy Roller is in her sixth season as the helm of the Cardinals and brings a 93-59 record into today's 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.
Roller is currently tied for fourth all-time in career victories in both men's and women's basketball at Ball State with former BSU men's coach Tim Buckley. She needs just four victories to move into a tie with Dick Hunsaker for third all-time in career victories.
Jim Hinga (1954-68)
154-169
Ray McCallum (1993-2000)
126-76
Dick Hunsaker (1989-93)
97-34
Tracy Roller (2001-present)
93-59
Tim Buckley (2000-06)
93-87
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 today's game with 477 career rebounds. She moved into 14th place all-time in career rebounds with her 12 boards against Wright State as she surpasses Dianne McConnell for 14th place.
10th - Alana Hancock (586)
11th - Glena Rusch (540)
12th - Lisa Hicks (501)
13th - Amy Zercher (500)
14th - Julie DeMuth (477)
15th - Dianne McConnell (475)
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 today's game fifth all-time in career-three-pointers made with 134. 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 (134)
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 291 assists with her two helpers against Michigan in the season opener. 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 (291)
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 the BSU Credit Union Thanksgiving Tournament tomorrow afternoon. Ball State will face either Coastal Carolina or IPFW in day two of the tournament. This weekend is the last home game for the Cardinals in this calendar year as BSU is on the road for seven games in the month of December.
