Rusche?s 36-Point Effort Leads Women?s Basketball to a 97-65 Victory At Butler

Indianapolis, Ind. ? Junior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills H.S.) poured in a career-high 36 points to lead the Ball State Cardinals to a 97-65 victory over instate rival Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon in the Hoosier Classic. The victory improves to the Cardinals to 5-0 on the season, tying the program's best start with last season's 5-0 beginning.

“Rusche was phenomenal all game long and just out-worked everyone on the floor,” head coach Tracy Roller said. “Butler is a very good team and anytime you can come into Hinkle and pick up a victory, you have to be excited. Today was another strong team effort as we had contributions up and down the lineup.”

Rusche, whose previous career-high was 13 points, turned in the fourth best scoring effort in program history with her 36-point outburst. She finished the game 15-of-23 from the field in the victory as she surpassed her old career-high just 12 minutes into the game. She also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to record her second career double-double. Her 36 points are the most scored by a Cardinal since Tamara Bowie notched a school-record 40 points in the 2002-03 season.

The Cardinals (5-0) came out of the gate quickly against the Bulldogs as they jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first five minutes. Sophomore guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington H.S.) set the tone on the defensive end as she tallied four steals in the first five minutes to ignite the Cardinals. Rusche was the benefactor of the defense as she scored six quick points to start her career afternoon.

Butler (2-5) battled back after the initial BSU run and pulled within even at 20-20 courtesy of a 9-2 run. The Cardinals responded to the Butler run with a run of their own in what proved to be the beginning of the knockout blow.

Ball State posted a 16-4 run over the next five minutes to take a 36-24 lead. Junior Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) sparked the run as she connected on four straight free throws. Green again was in the middle of the action as she scored four straight points to cap off the run as the Cardinal defense registered 10 first half steals.

The Cardinals closed the half in fitting fashion as Rusche scored on back-to-back possessions off of feeds from DeMuth and Green to go into the half ahead, 42-30. Ball State connected on 14-of-30 (46.7%) from the field in the first half and was 14-of-17 (82.4%) from the free throw line. The Cardinals forced Butler into 11 first half turnovers and just nine first half field goals.

Ball State came out of the break and quickly delivered the knockout blow as it opened the half on a 17-6 run. Rusche scored six points in the spurt, while sophomore guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) capped the run with only the second Cardinal three-pointer of the game to take a 59-36 lead.

The Cardinals dominated the second half as they connected on 19-of-30 (63.3%) from the field in the half to finish the game shooting 55 percent from the field. BSU connected on 15-of-20 (75%) from the free throw line in the second half as it went to the line 37 times against the Bulldogs.

DeMuth finished the game with 15 points and nine rebounds as she narrowly missed her second double-double of the season. She scored all 15 points from the free throw line as she tied Bowie's school-record for free throws made in a game with 15-of-16 (93.7%) made from the stripe.

Green continued her stellar all-around play as she scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out five assists and tallied four steals. Jarrett added nine points and five assists. Freshman Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo H.S.) added eight points while senior center Becca Bajorek (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales H.S.) also chipped in eight points.

Butler was held to just 21-of-57 (36.8%) from the field in the game and was forced into 20 turnovers in the loss. Jackie Closser scored 13 points in the loss but was held to without a field goal until late in the second half.

The 97 points the Cardinals scored are the most since BSU took home a 97-94 victory over Miami in the 2002-03 season. It also marks the first time that the Cardinals have scored over 90 points in two games in a season since the 2002-03 season.

The Cardinals will be back in action on Wednesday night as they continue their seven-game road swing with a contest at Illinois State.

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Rusche?s 36-Point Effort Leads Women?s Basketball to a 97-65 Victory At Butler

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Becca Bajorek

Julie DeMuth

Porchia Green

Kiley Jarrett

Audrey McDonald

Lisa Rusche

Players Mentioned

Becca Bajorek

Julie DeMuth

Porchia Green

Kiley Jarrett

Audrey McDonald

Lisa Rusche

Rusche?s 36-Point Effort Leads Women?s Basketball to a 97-65 Victory At Butler

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Becca Bajorek

Julie DeMuth

Porchia Green

Kiley Jarrett

Audrey McDonald

Lisa Rusche

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Players Mentioned

Becca Bajorek

Julie DeMuth

Porchia Green

Kiley Jarrett

Audrey McDonald

Lisa Rusche

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