Ball State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Looks for Fourth Straight at Kent
February 07, 2006 | Women's Basketball
MATCHUP AT A GLANCE:
Arena (Seating Capacity) Memorial Athletic Convocation Center (6,327)
Tip-off 7 p.m.
Television none
Webcast WCRD FM 91.3
Series Kent State leads 32-10
RADIO COVERAGE: The BSU-Kent State 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.
BALL STATE PROBABLE STARTERS:
1 Tina Bolte G 5-7 Jr./Jr. 10.6 ppg 2.4 rpg 1.1 apg 27.9 mpg
11 Kelsey Corbin G 5-9 Jr./Jr. 9.0 ppg 3.6 rpg 4.2 apg 26.7 mpg
13 Raechelle Hampton C 6-2 Sr./Sr. 7.7 ppg 4.8 rpg 0.9 spg 25.4 mpg
23 Erica Cotton G 5-8 Sr./Jr. 7.0 ppg 2.9 rpg 1.9 apg 23.3 mpg
14 Julie DeMuth G 5-10 So./So. 12.4 ppg 8.9 rpg 2.2 spg 27.4 mpg
OFF THE BENCH:
2 Stephanie Douglas G 5-9 Jr./Jr. 5.6 ppg 2.0 rpg 0.7 spg 13.0 mpg
3 Porchia Green G 5-8 Fr./Fr. 3.1 ppg 2.8 rpg 1.1 spg 14.0 mpg
12 Kiley Jarrett G 5-4 Fr./Fr. 3.8 ppg 1.7 rpg 3.3 apg 18.5 mpg
25 Dana Moorman F 6-0 Fr./Fr. 0.3 ppg 0.4 rpg 0.0 apg 4.0 mpg
42 Lisa Rusche F 6-1 So./So. 2.7 ppg 2.8 rpg 0.4 bpg 11.5 mpg
44 Brandy Ross F 6-1 So./So. 1.3 ppg 1.2 rpg 0.2 apg 7.8 mpg
52 Becca Bajorek C 6-2 Jr./Jr. 6.2 ppg 3.7 rpg 0.3 bpg 17.2 mpg
SCOUTING BALL STATE: Ball State is 13-7 overall and tied for second place in the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 6-3 mark . . . The Cardinals have won three straight and six of their last eight . . . Julie DeMuth tops BSU with 12.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game . . . Tina Bolte is second in scoring with her 10.6 average, while Raechelle Hampton is second in rebounding with 4.8 per game . . . Kelsey Corbin is dishing off a team-high 4.2 assists per outing, while averaging 9.0 points and 3.6 rebounds a game . . . Ball State averages 67.8 points and 38.0 rebounds per contest, while yielding 66.2 points and 39.0 rebounds to its opponents.
INJURY UPDATE: There are no injuries to report.
SCOUTING KENT STATE: Kent State is 13-7 overall and in second place in the MAC's East Division at 6-3 . . . Lindsay Shearer, a 2005 All-MAC First Team and 2006 Preseason All-MAC selection, tops the team with her 19.8 scoring average, which places her No. 1 among league leaders . . . The three-time recipient of MAC Player of the Week laurels this season is averaging 21 points per game versus league competition . . . Sarah Burgess is second for the Flashes in scoring with her 10.2 average . . . Malika Willoughby, a preseason all-league selection, leads the MAC with 5.4 assists and 3.2 steals per game . . . Kent State averages 68.1 points and 60.8 rebounds each contest, while giving up 60.8 points and 38.7 rebounds to its opponents . . .
BALL STATE VS. KENT STATE: Ball State and Kent State have met 42 times with the Flashes victorious in 32 of those matchups . . . The teams inaugurated the series with an 84-59 KSU home win Dec. 15, 1979 . . . BSU won three of the next four meetings . . . KSU reeled off 10-straight wins from 1990 to the first game of the 1995 series, before BSU snapped the streak with a 91-89 home victory March 1, 1995 . . . The Flashes responded with 11-straight victories before BSU posted a 93-86 win Feb. 27, 2003 . . . The Cardinals have won two of the last three meetings, including 75-70 last season . . . Kent State owns a 20-3 advantage versus BSU in games played at Kent.
LAST TIME: Ball State erased a 17-point second-half deficit to take a 75-70 victory over visiting Kent State Jan. 22, 2005, in Muncie . . . Julie DeMuth scored a career-high 27 points and pulled down a career-best 18 rebounds to lead the Cardinals . . . Her 18 boards tied the Worthen Arena record plus place fifth on BSU single-game charts . . . Three additional players scored in double figures for BSU -- Kate Endress with 16, Tina Bolte with 13 and Raechelle Hampton with 10 . . . DeMuth's 18 boards helped her team to a 43-31 advantage in that category . . . Lindsay Shearer led four Flashes who reached double figures with 16 points . . . Malika Willoughby had 10 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for KSU.
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 14 games thus far . . . Four players reached double digits for the seventh time at Ohio Jan. 31 . . . 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 its win at Ohio Jan. 31 . . . 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 . . . Against Buffalo last Saturday, the Cardinals got 21 points off the bench, including eight from Bajorek . . . 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.
COTTON TALE: Erica Cotton has made great strides since moving into Ball State's starting lineup Dec. 10 at Butler . . . Over the 14-game span, she is averaging 8.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game . . . Cotton, a senior academically and a junior eligibility-wise, has tallied six 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 four times and is averaging 11.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in nine MAC games . . . Cotton is shooting nearly 50 percent (41-of-84 / .482) from the floor versus league competition . . . In BSU's two wins last week, she averaged 16.5 points and shot 48 percent from the field.
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, including a league-high 3.8 offensive boards . . . She has led BSU in rebounding 14 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 Jan. 31 . . . She came one rebound short of another double-double with 13 points and nine boards versus Buffalo last Saturday . . . DeMuth has 15 double-digit rebounding marks in her career and has led BSU in that category a total of 25 times . . . She also boasts 19 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 nine times this season . . . In addition, she owns 10 double-figure scoring efforts in 2005-06 and a total of 22 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 14th in the MAC with 3.3 assists per game.
IN MAC GAMES: Three players are averaging double-figure scoring marks in Ball State's nine MAC games -- Julie DeMuth at 12.9, Erica Cotton at 11.4 and Kelsey Corbin at 10.6 . . . Tina Bolte is just shy of double digits with a 9.8 average . . . DeMuth, Cotton and Corbin rank 15th, 21st and 27th, 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 nine-game span, BSU is averaging 69.4 points and 35.7 rebounds versus 64.3 points and 40.0 rebounds for its opponents.
ROSTER UPDATE: Senior Krista Stewart has left the Ball State women's basketball program for personal reasons.
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 50-17 in home games over the last six campaigns for a .746 rate of success . . . BSU, which is 7-2 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 Jan. 31 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.
