Cincinnati, Ohio ? The Ball State women's basketball team turned in a strong second half effort as the Cardinals pulled away from regional rival Xavier, 69-63, on Friday night at the Cintas Center. The Cardinals had four different players score in double figures to improve to 7-2 on the season.
“This is a big victory for us against a very strong Xavier team,” head coach Tracy Roller said. “We shot very well in the second half and had an answer for each of their runs. The unsung heroes for tonight have to be seniors Tina Bolte and Becca Bajorek who came up big down the stretch and guided us to the win.”
The Cardinals connected on 15-of-26 (57.7%) from the field in the second half, including five-of-nine (55.6%) from three-point land to spur the victory. Senior guard Kelsey Corbin (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop H.S.) turned in a stellar performance as she scored a team-high 18 points, including 15 in the second half. She finished the night seven-of-13 from the field with six of her field goals coming in the second frame.
Freshman Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo H.S.) found her range from downtown as she scored a career-best 15 points. She connected on five-of-six from three-point land as three of her long range shots either tied the game or gave the Cardinals the lead.
The back-and-forth affair saw game tied 11 different times, including six ties in the first half. The Cardinals jumped out of the gate quickly against Xavier as they used a 9-2 run to take an early 14-7 lead just five minutes into the game. McDonald keyed the attack with a three-pointer in transition to start her career-high night.
The Musketeers (8-4) responded with nine unanswered points to take a 16-14 lead. Xavier extended its lead to five points before Ball State posted a 7-2 run to tie the game at 24-24. Sophomore guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington H.S.) and McDonald both connected on three-pointers during the run.
The Cardinals closed the half on a 5-2 run to head into the locker room all knotted up at 29-29. Ball State connected on just 10-of-34 (29.4%) of its shots from the field while hitting five-of-12 (41.7%) from three-point land. McDonald led the way in the first half with nine points as she was three-of-three from three-point land.
Xavier shot 43.3 percent (13-of-30) from the field but were held to just one-of-eight (12.5%) shooting from long-range. Freshman Amber Harris paced the Musketeers in the first half with nine points and four blocked shots.
Ball State came out of the break and quickly took the lead as junior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills H.S.) scored down low and Corbin scored on a fast break. The two teams traded basket for basket for most of the second half, including the first career three-pointer from Corbin.
The Cardinals found themselves trailing 53-52 with just under eight minutes remaining when senior guard Tina Bolte (Columbus, Ind./North H.S.) stepped up with a big three-pointer to give BSU the lead. After Xavier pulled back within one point at 59-58, Bolte again found herself free on the perimeter and nailed a three-pointer to give the Cardinals a four-point lead.
Xavier kept battling as they pulled within two points at 65-63 with just over a minute remaining. As the shot clock was running down, junior Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) out-muscled the Xavier defenders down low and converted a lay-up to give BSU a 67-63 lead. The basket was just the third field goal of the season for DeMuth but it moved the Cardinals to a four-point lead.
“After a really tough night shooting, Julie kept fighting and came through with a huge basket in the final minute that proved to be the difference maker,” Roller said.
The Ball State defense recorded two big stops in the final 45 second of the game and Corbin put an exclamation point on the win with a fast break basket as time expired.
The Cardinals finished the night with 10 three-pointers as they shot 47.6 percent from long-range. The 10 three-pointers are tied for the most in a game for BSU so far this season matching the effort turned in against Howard.
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State also controlled the boards in the victory as it out-rebounded Xavier, 42-32. The Cardinals held the Musketeers to just seven offensive rebounds and seven total rebounds short of their season average.
DeMuth finished the night with her third double-double of the season and 16th of her career as she scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Rusche added 11 points while Bolte recorded six points in the victory. Green continued her stellar all-around play as she finished with 10 rebounds, six points, six assists and three steals.
Xavier finished the night 24-of-56 (42.9%) from the field and just five-of-19 (26.3%) from three-point land. Harris led the Musketeers with a double-double as she scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Cardinals will be back in action after the holiday as they travel to Jersey City, N.J. for the Aeropostale Holiday Classic. Ball State will face off against tournament host St. Peter's on December 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the second game of the classic. Charlotte and Tulsa will meet in the first game of the tournament.
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