Bloomington, Ind. ? The Ball State women's basketball team dropped a tightly contested affair on Monday night to instate rival Indiana, 67-56, at Assembly Hall. The Cardinals, who came into the game averaging 77 points per game, were uncharacteristically off the mark shooting as they finished just 18-of-56 (32.1%) from the field.
“Obviously we are disappointed with this loss,” head coach Tracy Roller said. “We were strong on the defensive end but we just were unable to hit shots in the second half. We knew we would have a hard time against a very good team like Indiana when our shots aren't falling.”
The Cardinals (6-2) came out of the gate and jumped out a 13-4 lead in the first six minutes of the game courtesy of a 10-0 run. Sophomore guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington H.S.) keyed the spurt as she scored seven points, including her first three-pointer of the night.
Indiana (10-2) responded with a 15-4 run over the next five minutes to take back the lead at 19-18. The teams battled back-and-forth the rest of the half as the Hoosiers took a 30-27 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Cardinals connected on 11-of-28 (39.3%) from the field in the first half while Indiana connected on 10-of-31 (32.3%) from the field. The Hoosiers also went to the line 10 times in the opening frame as they connected on nine free throws to spur their effort.
Ball State came out of the break quickly as junior Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) scored the first five points to give BSU a 32-30 lead. Demuth put the Cardinals ahead as she nailed a trail three-pointer to force a Hoosier timeout.
The teams again battled within shouting distance other over the next 10 minutes of action until BSU to a 46-42 lead at the 7:41 mark. Senior center Becca Bajorek (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales H.S.) gave the Cardinals the four-point lead as she connected on a 10-foot jumper.
Indiana responded as it scored 10 unanswered points to take the lead for good at 52-46. The Cardinals pulled within a basket on two separate occasions in the final three minutes as freshman Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo H.S.) and senior Tina Bolte (Columbus, Ind./North H.S.) each hit big three-pointers.
The Hoosiers kept the Cardinals from tying the game with a big three-pointer and sealed the victory from the free throw line. Indiana connected on six-of-eight from the charity stripe in the final minute and finished the game 22-of-27 from the line.
The Cardinals were held to just seven-of-28 (25%) shooting in the second half to finish the game 32.1 percent from the field. Ball State went seven-of-21 (33.3%) from three-point land in the game, including five-of-14 (35.7%) in the second half.
Junior Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills H.S.) led the Cardinals in scoring as she finished with 15 points as she was nine-of-10 from the free throw line. DeMuth barely missed a double-double as she finished with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Green added 10 points while McDonald chipped in nine points in the loss for the Cardinals.
Indiana had four different players score in double figures in the victory as Jamie Braun and Leah Enterline each posted 15 points. Forward Whitney Thomas posted a double-double for the Hoosiers with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Cardinals will be back in action on Friday night as they continue their seven-game road swing in the month of December as they travel to Cincinnati for a showdown with regional rival Xavier. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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