Ball State University Athletics
Women Host Buffalo in First Game of a Ball State Twinbill Saturday
February 03, 2006 | Women's Basketball
MATCHUP AT A GLANCE:
Arena (Seating Capacity) Worthen Arena (11,500)
Tip-off 1 p.m.
Television none
Webcast WCRD FM 91.3 and WXFN 1340 AM
Series BSU leads 5-3
RADIO COVERAGE: The BSU-Buffalo contest will be broadcast live by WCRD FM 91.3 . . . BSU's student-run station will carry 26 regular-season games plus all postseason competition . . . Sports director Nathan Rausch is in his second full season as a part of the broadcast team and will handle play-by-play duties this year . . . Joel Nickels will provide color commentary, while Kyle Trompeter will do sideline reporting . . . The WCRD broadcasts can be heard via the internet at the official web site of Ball State athletics: www.ballstatesports.com.
MORE RADIO: Besides the 26-game WCRD package, Ball State will have 15 regular-season games carried by Muncie's WXFN 1340 AM, including the Buffalo contest . . . All tournament games will also be carried by the station . . . Kevin Lee will do play-by-play for this game . . . He is in his fifth season as part of the team . . . Jay Garrison, who is in his fourth season, will provide the color commentary against WSU . . . When scheduled, the WXFN broadcasts can be heard via the internet at www.ballstatesports.com or www.yahoo.com.
BALL STATE PROBABLE STARTERS:
1 Tina Bolte G 5-7 Jr./Jr. 10.7 ppg 2.4 rpg 1.1 apg 28.1 mpg
11 Kelsey Corbin G 5-9 Jr./Jr. 8.8 ppg 3.4 rpg 4.2 apg 26.7 mpg
13 Raechelle Hampton C 6-2 Sr./Sr. 8.3 ppg 5.0 rpg 0.9 spg 26.5 mpg
23 Erica Cotton G 5-8 Sr./Jr. 5.9 ppg 2.8 rpg 1.9 apg 22.4 mpg
14 Julie DeMuth G 5-10 So./So. 12.0 ppg 8.8 rpg 2.1 spg 27.4 mpg
OFF THE BENCH:
2 Stephanie Douglas G 5-9 Jr./Jr. 5.3 ppg 2.1 rpg 0.6 spg 13.4 mpg
3 Porchia Green G 5-8 Fr./Fr. 3.3 ppg 2.9 rpg 1.3 spg 14.5 mpg
12 Kiley Jarrett G 5-4 Fr./Fr. 3.8 ppg 1.7 rpg 3.6 apg 19.6 mpg
25 Dana Moorman F 6-0 Fr./Fr. 0.4 ppg 0.6 rpg 0.0 apg 4.3 mpg
42 Lisa Rusche F 6-1 So./So. 2.8 ppg 2.8 rpg 0.5 bpg 11.4 mpg
44 Brandy Ross F 6-1 So./So. 1.2 ppg 1.1 rpg 0.1 apg 7.4 mpg
52 Becca Bajorek C 6-2 Jr./Jr. 4.8 ppg 3.0 rpg 0.5 bpg 16.3 mpg
SCOUTING BALL STATE: Ball State is 12-7 overall and tied for second place in the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 5-3 mark . . . The Cardinals have won two straight and three of their last four . . . Julie DeMuth tops BSU with 12.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game . . . Tina Bolte is second in scoring with her 10.7 average, while Raechelle Hampton is second in rebounding with 5.1 per game . . . Kelsey Corbin is dishing off a team-high 4.2 assists per outing, while averaging 8.8 points and 3.4 rebounds a game . . . Ball State averages 67.7 points and 38.1 rebounds per contest, while yielding 66.7 points and 38.7 rebounds to its opponents.
INJURY UPDATE: There are no injuries to report.
ROSTER UPDATE: Senior Krista Stewart has left the Ball State women's basketball program for personal reasons.
SCOUTING BUFFALO: Buffalo is 7-12 overall and tied for fourth place in the MAC's East Division at 2-6 . . . The Bulls, who have lost four straight, suffered an 81-72 triple overtime defeat at the hands of Northern Illinois Tuesday . . . Heather Turner, the 2005 MAC Freshman of the Year, tops the team with 13.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game . . . Brooke Meunier is second in scoring with her 12.5 average . . . Jamie Schiebner is averaging 8.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game . . . Buffalo averages 61.4 points and 36.5 rebounds, while giving up 65.5 points and 34.9 rebounds to its opponents.
BALL STATE VS. BUFFALO: Ball State and Buffalo have met just eight times with the Cardinals claiming victory in five of those contests . . . The Bulls won the initial matchup -- 71-63 -- Jan. 30, 1999, in Buffalo . . . UB also won the next two meetings, before BSU began a streak of five-straight wins heading into this contest . . . The Cardinals are 2-1 versus the Bulls in Muncie.
LAST TIME: Ball State missed its first six shot attempts, but then came alive to cut a five-point deficit and take over the lead for good on the way to a 75-55 victory over Buffalo Jan. 15, 2005, in Buffalo, N.Y. . . . The Cardinals withstood a run from their host and took a 31-26 lead into the halfway break despite shooting just 33 (12-of-36) percent from the field . . . Kate Endress led all scorers with 21 points . . . Julie DeMuth logged a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds . . . Kelsey Corbin matched DeMuth in points . . . Heather Turner and Stephanie Bennett had 11 points apiece for Buffalo . . . Allison Bennett added 10 . . . BSU posted a 42-33 advantage on the boards plus forced UB into 19 turnovers.
BSU CAPTAINS: Juniors Tina Bolte and Kelsey Corbin plus sophomore Julie DeMuth are tri-captains of the 2005-06 squad . . . Corbin is in her second season as a captain for the Cardinals . . . All three players were regular starters on last season's team, which posted a 16-13 overall mark and an 11-5 MAC slate.
BALANCED BALL STATE: Ball State has had at least three players score in double figures in 13 games thus far . . . Four players reached double digits for the seventh time Tuesday at Ohio . . . BSU also accomplished the feat versus Evansville Nov. 22, against Butler Dec. 9, at Santa Clara Dec. 31, at Toledo Jan. 7, at Western Michigan Jan. 11 and at Miami Jan. 25 . . . In the Toledo game, two of the four players -- Julie DeMuth (24) and Kelsey Corbin (20) scored 20 or more points . . . Five hit the double-digit plateau against North Dakota State Nov. 27 . . . All 11 players who dressed against Lipscomb scored at least three points.
FROM THE BENCH: Ball State got 31 points from its bench in Tuesday's win at Ohio . . . Stephanie Douglas and Becca Bajorek were two of four players who scored in double figures . . . Douglas came off the bench to post her fourth double-figure scoring effort of the campaign with 12 points in 15 minutes of work . . . Bajorek notched double digits for the first time this season with a season-high 10 off the bench . . . So far this season, Ball State has gotten scoring from all players who saw action in four games . . . Every player who dressed scored at least three points against Lipscomb.
THE STREAK: Kelsey Corbin converted 29-consecutive free throws before missing on her only attempt at Ohio Tuesday . . . The streak dated back to a 5-of-5 performance at Saint Mary's (Calif.) Dec. 29 . . . Corbin continues to top the league in MAC games only with a .958 percentage (23-of-24) from the charity stripe . . . She has converted at least two tries in five MAC games, including 6-of-6 twice . . . Corbin's streak of 29 surpassed last season's 28 achieved by Tina Bolte.
COTTON TALE: Erica Cotton has made great strides since moving into Ball State's starting lineup Dec. 10 at Butler . . . Over the 13-game span, she is averaging 8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game . . . Cotton, a senior academically and a junior eligibility-wise, has tallied five double-digit scoring marks during the stretch, including a career-high 19-point effort versus Akron Jan. 28 . . . She has led the team in scoring three times and is averaging 10.9 points and 3.9 rebounds in eight MAC games . . . Cotton is shooting nearly 50 percent (34-of-71 /- .479) from the floor and 75 percent (12-of-16) from the line versus league competition.
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS: Sophomore Julie DeMuth is leading Ball State for the second-straight year in rebounding . . . She is averaging a MAC-best 8.9 per game . . . She has led BSU in rebounding 13 times this season . . . She has posted a MAC-leading seven double-doubles in 2005-06 for a total of 10 in her career . . . DeMuth had 14 points and 10 boards against Valparaiso Dec. 4 after 19 points and 14 rebounds versus Illinois State Nov. 30 . . . She had 11 points and 13 rebounds vs. North Dakota State Nov. 27 . . . Her fourth double-double came Dec. 31 with 17 points and 14 rebounds at Santa Clara . . . Her fifth included a career-high 24 points 13 rebounds at Toledo Jan. 7 and her sixth ended with 10 points and 13 rebounds at Miami Jan. 25 . . . Her latest effort was 18 points and 11 boards at Ohio Tuesday . . . DeMuth has 15 double-digit rebounding marks in her career and has led BSU in that category a total of 24 times . . . She also boasts 18 double-figure scoring efforts.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE/DOUBLE-DOUBLE: In its Dec. 31 game against Santa Clara, Ball State dominated the boards accumulating a season-high 54 . . . For the first time this season, BSU had two players tally double-doubles in the game -- Julie DeMuth and Raechelle Hampton . . . DeMuth had a game-high 17 points versus the Broncos plus pulled down 14 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the campaign . . . Hampton snared a career-high and game-leading 15 missed shots plus added 14 points for her first career double-double.
CORBIN TOP SERVER: Kelsey Corbin ranks first for Ball State and sixth in the MAC with 4.2 assists per game . . . She accumulated the third double-digit assist total of her career with 11 at Western Michigan Jan. 11 . . . She added 14 points against the Broncos to notch her second career double-double . . . Corbin tallied the second double-digit assist total of her career with 10 in BSU's opener against Murray State . . . Her 11 dishes versus Western Michigan ties her career high achieved against Miami March 10, 2004 . . . Corbin, who scored a season-high 20 points Jan. 7 at Toledo, has led the Cardinals in assists eight times this season . . . In addition, she owns nine double-figure scoring efforts in 2005-06 and a total of 21 in her career.
PETITE DISH: Freshman Kiley Jarrett accumulated the second double-digit assist mark of her career with 10 at Wright State Dec. 17 . . . BSU's shortest player at 5-foot-4, Jarrett dished off a team season-high 11 versus Evansville Nov. 22 . . . She is currently second on the team and 10th in the MAC with 3.4 assists per game.
IN MAC GAMES: Four players are averaging double-figure scoring marks in Ball State's seven MAC games -- Julie DeMuth at 12.9, Erica Cotton at 10.9, Kelsey Corbin at 10.4 and Tina Bolte at 10.0 . . . DeMuth, Cotton and Corbin rank 15th, 24th and 28th, respectively, in scoring in league games only . . . DeMuth tops the team with an 8.9 rebounding average . . . Corbin is dishing off 4.3 assists per game . . . Over the eight-game span, BSU is averaging 69.4 points and 35.8 rebounds versus 65.4 points and 39.5 rebounds for its opponents.
RECORD START: Ball State's 5-0 start to this season marked the best in school history . . . The five wins surpassed the 4-0 start of Brenda (Oldfield) Frese's 1999-2000 team . . . Four of the wins came in the friendly confines of Worthen Arena . . . Ball State's 6-1 start to the 2005-06 campaign has been bettered by just one other team in the 32-year history of women's basketball at the university . . . The 1975-76 squad began its campaign with a 7-1 record, before eventually finishing with a 13-6 mark.
WONDERFUL WORTHEN: Ball State is 49-17 in home games over the last six campaigns for a .740 rate of success . . . BSU, which is 6-2 in home contests this season, finished with an 8-5 mark at home in 2004-05 after a 6-5 slate during the 2003-04 season . . . BSU posted a 7-2 record at Worthen Arena in 2002-03, dropping two games by a combined total of nine points . . . With its first-round WNIT victory over Louisville March 13, 2002, Ball State finished with a program record 13-1 mark at Worthen Arena in 2001-02 . . . The previous best home record was the 2000-01 team's 9-2 ledger.
GAME TIME VS. WESTERN MICHIGAN: Ball State's game against Western Michigan is slated for a 7 p.m. starting time Feb. 18 at Worthen Arena . . . The time was not determined until the men's bracket buster pairings were announced earlier this week . . . BSU's men will host Tennessee State at 4 p.m. the same day . . . At halftime of the women's contest, Ball State female student-athletes who competed in their respective sports prior to 1985 will be recognized.
TV SCHEDULE SET: Ball State has a two-game television package this season with the Ball State Sports Network -- Jan. 14 vs. Central Michigan and Feb. 15 against Toledo . . . The Cardinals will also appear twice on Comcast Local -- Jan. 18 against Eastern Michigan and again Feb. 28 versus Northern Illinois . . . In addition, BSU's game at Ohio Tuesday was televised by FSN Ohio.
MAC PRESEASON POLL: In the 2005-06 MAC News Media Association Preseason Poll, Ball State was picked to finish third in the West Division . . . Eastern Michigan was tabbed as the favorite in the West with 132 points, including 20 first-place votes . . . Western Michigan was second (99), followed by BSU (86), Toledo (83), Northern Illinois (44) and Central Michigan (39) . . . Bowling Green, the 2005 MAC Tournament and regular-season champs, is the favorite in its division with 132 points, including 17 first-place tallies . . . Kent State was second (117), followed by Miami (93), Ohio (68), Buffalo (40) and Akron (33) . . . BGSU, which move back to the East Division at the advent of this school year, is the favorite to win the tournament with 15 points, followed by Kent State with five, Eastern Michigan with four and Western Michigan with one point.
FORMIDABLE FOE: When Ball State traveled to Duke Dec. 19, it faced a squad that was picked No. 1 in The Associated Press Preseason Poll and No. 2 in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Preseason Poll . . . Duke, which currently ranks No. 1 in both polls, finished last season with a 31-5 overall record and ranked 7/8, respectively, in the final polls . . . When the Blue Devils visited Muncie Dec. 20, 2004, they were the No. 3 ranked team in the nation.
DEMUTH GARNERS MAC AWARD: Julie DeMuth was honored for the first time in her career with her selection as Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week Dec. 5 . . . She gained the award after averaging 16.5 points and 12 rebounds over a two-game span . . . DeMuth notched her second and third-straight double-doubles of the season -- the fifth and sixth of her career -- with 19 points and 14 rebounds in a win over Illinois State Nov. 30 and then 14 points and 10 boards in a loss versus Valparaiso Dec. 4.
THE TRACY ROLLER SHOW: The Tracy Roller Show takes place each Monday night from 6 - 7 p.m. at Johnny Carino's in Muncie . . . The show, in its second season, is carried live on WCRD -- BSU's student-run radio station . . . Nathan Rausch, Joel Nickels and Kyle Trompeter host the show, which can be heard live on the web at www.ballstatesports.com.
BSU CAPTURES CLASSIC: BSU captured the championship of the first-ever Ball State Credit Union Classic Nov. 26-27 . . . BSU trounced Lipscomb 83-53 in the semifinals and then defeated North Dakota State 65-54 to win the title . . . The Cardinals averaged 74 points, 43 rebounds and 13 steals a game, while holding their opponents to 53.5 points, 35 rebounds and a cool .352 (38-of-108) field goal percentage . . . BSU also forced its two opponents into 47 turnovers . . . Julie DeMuth was selected as the classic's Most Valuable Player, while Kelsey Corbin were named to the all-tournament team . . . With its championship in the Classic, the Cardinals have captured non-conference tournament titles in each of the past four seasons -- all under head coach Tracy Roller and are 11-5 record in non-conference tournament competition.
HOME GROWN: Ball State's 2005-06 roster boasts five players from the state of Indiana -- juniors Tina Bolte (Columbus) and Kelsey Corbin (Fort Wayne), sophomore Julie DeMuth (Merrillville) and freshmen Porchia Green (Indianapolis) and Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington) . . . Bolte, Corbin and DeMuth were all fulltime starters last season.
THROUGH MICHIGAN AND OHIO: If not from Indiana, you should look at Detroit, Mich., to find the homes of four more Cardinals -- Erica Cotton, Stephanie Douglas, Raechelle Hampton and Brandy Ross . . . Three more hail from the state of Ohio -- Becca Bajorek (Columbus), Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati) and Dana Moorman (Dayton).
LAST SEASON: Ball State concluded the 2004-05 campaign with a 16-13 overall record and an 11-5 Mid-American Conference mark . . . The Cardinals tied for second place in the West Division and earned the No. 5 seed in the MAC Tournament . . . The fifth-seeded Cardinals hosted 12th-seeded Akron in the first round and posted a 77-52 victory . . . In quarterfinal action at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, BSU's season was ended with a 72-64 loss at the hands of fourth-seeded Eastern Michigan.
IT'S ACADEMIC: The fall 2005 fall grading period marked the fifth-straight semester the Ball State women's basketball team has combined for a better than 3.00 grade-point average . . . The 13-member squad tallied a 3.09 GPA for the term . . . The team posted a 3.10 for the 2005 spring semester, a 3.02 for the 2004 fall semester, a 3.18 GPA for the 2004 spring semester and a 3.30 GPA for the 2003 fall semester . . . The 2005-06 team boasts an overall cumulative GPA of 3.07 with nine members netting 3.0 or higher marks . . . Kelsey Corbin tops the squad with a 3.69 cumulative GPA, followed by Tina Bolte at 3.49, Dana Moorman at 3.48, Becca Bajorek at 3.40, Lisa Rusche at 3.22, Raechelle Hampton at 3.16, Brandy Ross at 3.15, Julie DeMuth at 3.10 and Kiley Jarrett at 3.0.
THREE SIGN EARLY: Head coach Tracy Roller inked three players during the early signing period -- Indiana guards Kyleigh Jones (Elwood, Ind./Elwood H.S.) and Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo H.S.) plus post player Kalynne Proctor (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Regina H.S.) . . . Jones and McDonald are both Super Senior 25 preseason picks by Regional Roundball.
