Ball State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts MAC First Round Game Saturday
March 02, 2006 | Women's Basketball
MATCHUP AT A GLANCE:
Arena (Seating Capacity) Worthen Arena (11,500)
Tip-off 2 p.m.
Television none
Webcast WCRD FM 91.3 and WXFN 1340 AM
Series Ball State leads 13-8
TICKETS: Ticket prices for the first round Mid-American Conference Tournament game between Ball State and Akron will be the same as regular-season games . . . BSU students and youth 18-and-under will be admitted free of charge . . . All adult general ticket prices are $5.
RADIO COVERAGE: The BSU-Akron 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 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 Akron contest . . . All tournament games will also be carried by the station . . . Jay Garrison, who is in his fourth season, will call the game against the Zips . . . Michael Towne of WCRD will provide color commentary . . . 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. 10.5 ppg 2.2 rpg 0.9 apg 28.1 mpg
3 Porchia Green G 5-8 Fr./Fr. 3.4 ppg 3.0 rpg 1.3 apg 16.7 mpg
11 Kelsey Corbin G 5-9 Jr./Jr. 8.8 ppg 3.6 rpg 4.0 apg 27.0 mpg
14 Julie DeMuth G 5-10 So./So. 11.6 ppg 9.2 rpg 1.9 spg 27.1 mpg
13 Raechelle Hampton C 6-2 Sr./Sr. 7.7 ppg 4.4 rpg 0.9 spg 24.7 mpg
OFF THE BENCH:
2 Stephanie Douglas G 5-9 Jr./Jr. 4.8 ppg 1.7 rpg 0.6 spg 12.2 mpg
12 Kiley Jarrett G 5-4 Fr./Fr. 3.6 ppg 1.5 rpg 2.6 apg 17.6 mpg
23 Erica Cotton G 5-8 Sr./Jr. 6.5 ppg 2.7 rpg 1.8 apg 23.4 mpg
25 Dana Moorman F 6-0 Fr./Fr. 0.5 ppg 0.4 rpg 0.0 apg 3.7 mpg
42 Lisa Rusche F 6-1 So./So. 3.2 ppg 2.7 rpg 0.5 bpg 11.2 mpg
52 Becca Bajorek C 6-2 Jr./Jr. 6.5 ppg 3.6 rpg 0.4 bpg 17.7 mpg
SCOUTING BALL STATE: Ball State is 16-11 overall . . . The Cardinals finished the regular season in third place in the West Division with a 9-7 Mid-American Conference mark . . . Julie DeMuth continues to pace BSU with 11.6 points, a league-leading 9.2 rebounds and nearly two steals per game . . . Tina Bolte is second with her 10.5 scoring average, while Raechelle Hampton checks in at second with 4.4 rebounds each game . . . Kelsey Corbin is dishing off a team-leading 4.0 assists per contest, while averaging 8.8 points . . . BSU averages 65.9 points and 37.4 rebounds per game, while yielding 64.8 points and 38.3 rebounds to its opponents . . . The Cardinals are second in the league in offensive rebounds and assist/turnover ratio.
SCOUTING AKRON: Akron is 5-22 overall . . . The Zips are the No. 6 seed in the East Division after posting a 2-14 MAC mark . . . Jessie Crooks tops the team with her 14.0 scoring average . . . Niki McCoy is second in scoring and first in rebounding with 11.4 and 6.0 averages, respectively . . . Courtney Stewart is just shy of double figures with a 9.9 average . . . Akron averages 54.9 points and 31.0 rebounds each game, while giving up 66.4 points and 36 rebounds to its opponents.
BALL STATE VS. AKRON: Ball State and Akron have met 21 times and the Cardinals have been victorious in 13 of those meetings . . . The series originated with a 64-56 Zips' win Dec. 17, 1986 . . . BSU has won the past seven meetings against Akron, including 67-66 earlier this season . . . BSU is 1-0 versus Akron in MAC Tournament action . . . The Cardinals have won seven of 12 games against Akron played in Muncie . . . Under head coach Tracy Roller, BSU is a perfect 6-0 versus the Zips.
LAST TIME: Tina Bolte nailed a 3-point basket with nine seconds left to lift Ball State to a 67-66 victory Jan. 28 in Muncie . . . The Cardinals led for all but a few seconds of the first half, then fought through seven lead changes and two ties in the second half to preserve the win . . . Erica Cotton scored a career-high 19 points to lead BSU . . . Kiley Jarrett chipped in with 13, which tied her career high . . . Akron's Jessie Crooks led all scorers with 22 points . . . The Zips won the battle of the boards 36-31, but had 23 turnovers to BSU's 13.
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.
ROSTER UPDATE: Junior Brandy Ross has left the Ball State women's basketball team for personal reasons.
MAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Ball State is making its 16th appearance in the Mid-American Conference Tournament . . . The Cardinals, who earned top-three seeds in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006, are 9-15 in league tournament competition . . . BSU advanced to the championship game in both the 2002 and 2003 events . . . In 15 previous tournaments, the Cardinals have made 14 quarterfinal appearances and advanced to the semifinals four times.
EIGHT HUNDRED: Ball State's game against Akron will mark the 800th women's basketball game at BSU . . . The Cardinals have posted a 32-year mark of 330-469.
WINNING WAYS: Ball State has assured itself of a winning record in 2005-06, marking the second straight and sixth in the last seven years for the program . . . Prior to the 1999-2000 campaign, BSU had struggled through nine-successive losing seasons . . . Head coach Tracy Roller has been at Ball State for each of the past seven seasons -- two as an assistant and five as head coach.
BALANCED BALL STATE: Ball State has had at least three players score in double figures in 19 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.
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS: Sophomore Julie DeMuth is leading Ball State for the second-straight year in rebounding . . . She is averaging a MAC-best 9.2 per game . . . She has led BSU in rebounding 20 times this season . . . She has posted a league-leading 10 double-doubles in 2005-06 for a total of 13 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 season-high 24 points 13 rebounds at Toledo Jan. 7 and her sixth ended with 10 points and 13 rebounds at Miami Jan. 25 . . . She totaled 18 points and 11 boards at Ohio Jan. 31 for her seventh and then 12 points and 18 rebounds at Kent State Feb. 8 . . . DeMuth tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds against Toledo Feb. 15 and her latest effort came with 12 points and 16 rebounds at Central Michigan Feb. 22 . . . The 18 rebounds at KSU tie her career high achieved last season versus the Flashes and tie for the fifth-best effort on BSU's single-game charts . . . It is also the best single-game effort in the MAC this season . . . DeMuth has 18 double-digit rebounding marks in her career and has led BSU in that category a total of 31 times . . . She also boasts 23 double-figure scoring efforts . . . Her 449 rebounds place No. 15 on Ball State career charts.
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.
RUSCHE OFF THE BENCH: Lisa Rusche has come off the bench to average 9.7 points and 2.3 rebounds over the past three games . . . She scored a career-high 11 points, including 5-of-5 from the field, over a 12-minute span at Central Michigan Feb. 22 . . . She added two blocks, a steal and a rebound versus the Chippewas . . . Rusche tallied eight points at Eastern Michigan Feb. 25 . . . She had 10 points, a team-tieing high five rebounds, one block and one steal in 21 minutes versus Northern Illinois Tuesday . . . Over the three-game span, she has converted 10-of-13 field goals (.769) and 9-of-14 free throws.
HAMPTON-INGS: Raechelle Hampton notched her ninth double-figure scoring effort of the season -- the 22nd of her career -- with a team-high 16 Feb. 25 at Eastern Michigan, where she tied her career high with 12 field goal attempts . . . Hampton has led the team in scoring twice this season and a total of three times in her career . . . She has moved into Ball State's career charts in three categories, including No. 5 in games played (115), No. 7 in blocks (53) and No. 17 in rebounds (439).
CORBIN TOP SERVER: Kelsey Corbin ranks first for Ball State and ninth in the MAC with 4.0 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 WMU 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 13 times this season . . . Her 276 career assists place No. 10 on BSU charts . . . In addition, she owns 13 double-figure scoring efforts in 2005-06 and a total of 25 in her career . . . Corbin boasts a MAC-best .929 (39-of-42) from the line in league games only.
BOLTE EARNS ACADEMIC HONOR: Tina Bolte was recently named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V Second Team . . . Bolte owns a 3.49 GPA as a secondary education major . . . She is second for the Cardinals with 10.5 points per game . . . Her selection marks the fourth-straight year a BSU player has earned academic all-district honors.
MORE BOLTE: Tina Bolte nailed her first three 3-point field goals Tuesday on the way to 16 points in leading Ball State to the 65-53 victory over Northern Illinois . . . She ranks No. 2 in the MAC in 3-point field goals made (2.2) and No. 5 in 3-point field goal percentage (.354) . . . Bolte places No. 5 on BSU career charts in 3-pointers made (123) plus No. 6 in 3-point attempts (371).
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 53-18 in home games over the last six campaigns for a .747 rate of success . . . BSU, which is 10-3 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.
TV TIME: Ball State had 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 also appeared twice on Comcast Local -- Jan. 18 against Eastern Michigan and again Tuesday 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 full-time 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.
