Ball State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Battles Xavier Friday
December 21, 2006 | Women's Basketball
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals continue their seven-game road swing in the month of December on Friday as they take on regional foe Xavier at the Cintas Center. The Cardinals enter the game with a 6-2 record overall and are coming off of a 67-56 loss at Indiana on Monday night.
Xavier enters tonight's game with an 8-3 record on the season and have won two straight games.
Series History vs. Xavier . . .
Friday's game is just the third meeting all-time between these two regional opponents. The all-time series is tied 1-1 and tonight will be the first meeting in the series since the 1990-91 season.
1990-91
Xavier 94 (H), Ball State 79
1989-90
Ball State (H) 82, Xavier 70
The Cardinals have not faced an opponent form the Atlantic 10 Conference since the 1996-97 season when BSU defeated Duquesne 66-61 at the UAB State Farm Classic.
Last Time Out . . .
The Cardinals dropped just their second game of the season on Monday night as they fell, 67-56, to instate rival Indiana at Assembly Hall. The Cardinals had an uncharacteristically off night shooting as they finished just 18-of-56 (32.1%) from the field.
Ball State and Indiana battled back and forth all night long as the Cardinals were within a basket in the final minute.
Junior Lisa Rusche led the Cardinals in scoring as she finished with 15 points as she was nine-of-10 from the free throw line. Junior Julie DeMuth barely missed a double-double as she finished with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Sophomore Porchia Green added 10 points while freshman Audrey McDonald chipped in nine points in the loss for the Cardinals.
Spreading It Around . . .
The Cardinals enter tonight's game with all five starters averaging double figures in scoring on the season. The Cardinals are the only team in the Mid-American Conference to accomplish this feat. No team in the MAC even has four players averaging double figures while six teams have three players averaging double figures (Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo and Western Michigan).
Scouting the Cardinals . . .
The Cardinals enter tonight's game with a 6-2 record on the young season and are coming off of a tough loss at Indiana. Ball State is averaging 74.4 points per game this season while allowing 63.5 points per game. The Cardinals are shooting 45.5 percent from the field overall and 37.9 percent from three-point land.
Ball State has all five starters averaging double figures this season. Junior Julie DeMuth leads the team in scoring as she averages 15 points per game as she has gone to the free throw line a team-high 59 times this season. She also leads the team in rebounding at 8.9 boards per game.
Junior Lisa Rusche is second on the team in scoring at 12.1 points and rebounding at 7.0 boards per game. Sophomore guard Porchia Green is third on the team in scoring at 10.8 points, third on the team in rebounding at 6.1 boards, first in assists at 33 and first in steals at 25.
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin adds 10.5 points per game and is second in assists at 29. Freshman Audrey McDonald rounds out the double figure scoring for the Cardinals as she chips in 10 points per game.
Scouting the Musketeers . . .
Xavier enters tonight's game with an 8-3 record overall and has won two straight games, including a 17-point victory over Eastern Illinois last Friday. The Musketeers are averaging 70.3 points per game and are allowing 63 points per game.
Freshman Amber Harris leads the team in scoring (15.5), rebounding (8.9) and blocks (41). Suntana Granderson is second on the team in scoring at 13.9 points per game while Michele Miller is third on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per contest.
Rusche's Romp . . .
Junior forward Lisa Rusche turned in a stellar performance last weekend at the Hoosier Classic against Butler as she scored a career-high 36 points. Rusche's 36 points are the fourth most points scored all-time by a Cardinal in a game and the most since Tamara Bowie notched a program-best 40 points in 2002.
Rusche, whose previous career-high was 13 points, surpassed her old career-high just 12 minutes into the game on her way to 19 first half points. She connected on 15-of-23 from the field in the BSU victory and was six-of-eight from the charity stripe. She also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for her second career double-double. She also dished out two assists, registered a block and a steal in just 30 minutes of action.
Career Nights . . .
So far this season, Ball State has posted some strong individual performances. The Cardinals have had five different players turn in a career-high scoring performance so far this season. Junior forward Lisa Rusche leads the way with her 36-point effort against Butler while classmate Julie DeMuth added 28-points at Illinois State.
Sophomore guard Porchia Green turned in a career-high 21 points against Valparaiso. Freshmen Audrey McDonald and Kalynne Proctor each opened their collegiate careers in prime style with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Cleaning the Glass . . .
The Cardinals enter tonight's game with a 5-0 record on the season when they out-rebound their opponent. Ball State though, is 10th in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding offense at 35.9 boards per game. The Cardinals have controlled the boards by on the other end as they lead the MAC in rebounding defense as they allow just 32.8 boards per game. BSU is second in the
Fast Starts . . .
The Cardinals opened the season with a 6-1 start, which matches their best record after seven games in program history. Ball State opened the season 6-1 in the 2005-06 and the 1975-76 seasons. The Cardinals opened last season 6-2 while the 1975-76 season opened at 7-1.
Cardinals In NCAA Stats . . .
Ball State's name is littered throughout the NCAA statistical rankings in the early part of the season as the Cardinals are in the top 45 in nine different team categories at the beginning of the week. Ball State is 18th in the nation in field goal percentage (47.5); 23rd in scoring offense (77.0); 24th in three-point percentage (38.7); 26th in assists per game (17.1); 27th in three-point field goals per game (6.6); 35 in free throw percentage (74.7); 36th in won/loss percentage (.857) 38 in scoring margin (+14.0); and 45 in steals per game (11.4).
Individually speaking, sophomore Porchia Green is 17th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (48.3) while freshman Audrey McDonald is 30th (45.7). Green is also 28th in the nation in steals per game at 3.3 and McDonald is 69th in three-pointers made per game at 2.3. Junior Julie DeMuth is 67th in the nation in free throw percentage (85.7) and 79th in rebounding (8.9).
RPI Watching . . .
The Cardinals, off to a 6-2 start, is making some noise this year in the early RPI rankings. Ball State enters tonight's game ranked as high as 70th in the RPI by RealtimeRPI.com BSU is also listed 80th by the Sagarin Report and 103rd by CollegeRPI.com. The first NCAA RPI release is not sent out until February of each season.
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 against Wright State as she scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. She recorded her second double dip of the season on Wednesday night as she scored 28 points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds.
She moved into sole possession of third place all-time in career double-doubles at Ball State on Wednesday as she surpassed 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 - 15
Kate Endress - 14
Countdown to 100 . . .
Head coach Tracy Roller is in her sixth season as the helm of the Cardinals and brings a 97-61 record into tonight's game. She is already the all-time winningest coach in BSU women's basketball history. She needs just three 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 moved into a tie for the third most wins in Ball State basketball history on Sunday as she tied Dick Hunsaker with 97 victories.
Jim Hinga (1954-68)
154-169
Ray McCallum (1993-2000)
126-76
Tracy Roller (2001-present)
97-61
Dick Hunsaker (1989-93)
97-34
Tim Buckley (2000-06)
93-87
Owning the Glass . . .
Junior guard Julie DeMuth leads the Cardinals and is third in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding this season at 8.9 rebounds per game.
She led the Cardinals and the MAC 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 became just the 14th player in Ball State history to reach the 500-career rebound plateau with her 16-board effort against Illinois State. She currently sits in 12th place all-time in career rebounds with 529 as she surpassed Amy Zercher and Lisa Hicks last week.
9th - Shelley Silk (618)
10th - Alana Hancock (586)
11th - Glena Rusch (540)
12th - Julie DeMuth (529)
13th - Lisa Hicks (501)
14th - Amy Zercher (500)
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 tonight's game in sole possession of fourth all-time in career-three-pointers made with 140. She overtook Alana Hancock for fourth place with a three-pointer against Valparaiso. She needs just 11 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 - Tina Bolte (141)
5th - Alana Hancock (139)
Lending a Helping Hand . . .
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin is second on the team in assists this season as she has dished out 26 helpers. She became just the seventh player all-time to reach 300 career assists earlier this season. She enters tonight's game sixth all-time in career assists at 315.
3rd - Johna Goff (447)
4th - Stephanie McQuinne (364)
5th - Jane Emkes (346)
6th - Kelsey Corbin (315)
7th - Alana Hancock (302)
8th - Michelle Baker (298)
Non-Conference Success . . .
The Cardinals are 621 so far this season in their non-conference schedule after posting an 7-4 mark in non-conference play last season. Ball State has three more non-conference games on the docket this season including tonight's game against Indiana.
The Cardinals posted their best non-conference record of 8-3 on two different occasions (2001-02 & 2000-01)
8-3 - 2001-02 & 2000-01
7-3 - 1989-90
8-4 - 2002-3
7-4 - 2005-06 & 1999-2000
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
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.
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 13 regular season games broadcast on Muncie's WXFN 1340 AM this season and two games broadcast on WERK 104.9 FM. 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
* - WERK 104.9 FM
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.
Looking Ahead . . .
The Cardinals will return to action after the Christmas holiday as they wrap up their seven-game road swing by traveling to Jersey City, N.J. Ball State will take part in the Aeropostale Holiday Classic at St. Peter's. The Cardinals will face off against host St. Peter's on Dec. 29 and will meet either Charlotte or Tulsa in the second game of the Classic.
