Ball State University Athletics
Women's Basketball Heads to Cleveland for MAC Quarterfinals
March 06, 2006 | Women's Basketball
MATCHUP AT A GLANCE:
Arena (Seating Capacity) Quicken Loans Arena (20,562)
Tip-off 3 p.m.
Television none
Webcast WCRD FM 91.3 and WXFN 1340 AM
Series Kent State leads 33-10
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 . . . Kyle Trompeter will handle play-by-play duties during the tournament . . . Joel Nickels will provide color commentary . . . 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 plus all postseason competition carried by Muncie's WXFN 1340 AM . . . Nathan Rausch, sports director at BSU's WCRD, will call the games during the MAC Tournament, while 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. 10.6 ppg 2.1 rpg 0.9 apg 22.9 mpg
3 Porchia Green G 5-8 Fr./Fr. 3.5 ppg 3.0 rpg 1.4 apg 17.2 mpg
11 Kelsey Corbin G 5-9 Jr./Jr. 8.8 ppg 3.6 rpg 4.2 apg 27.3 mpg
14 Julie DeMuth G 5-10 So./So. 11.4 ppg 9.1 rpg 2.0 spg 27.2 mpg
13 Raechelle Hampton C 6-2 Sr./Sr. 7.9 ppg 4.4 rpg 0.9 spg 24.8 mpg
OFF THE BENCH:
2 Stephanie Douglas G 5-9 Jr./Jr. 4.7 ppg 1.7 rpg 0.6 spg 12.1 mpg
12 Kiley Jarrett G 5-4 Fr./Fr. 3.8 ppg 1.6 rpg 2.6 apg 17.6 mpg
23 Erica Cotton G 5-8 Sr./Jr. 6.3 ppg 2.7 rpg 1.7 apg 22.8 mpg
25 Dana Moorman F 6-0 Fr./Fr. 0.6 ppg 0.6 rpg 0.1 apg 4.0 mpg
42 Lisa Rusche F 6-1 So./So. 3.2 ppg 2.7 rpg 0.6 bpg 11.1 mpg
52 Becca Bajorek C 6-2 Jr./Jr. 6.5 ppg 3.9 rpg 0.4 bpg 17.7 mpg
SCOUTING BALL STATE: Ball State is 17-11 overall . . . The Cardinals earned the No. 3 seed in the West Division after tallying a 9-7 Mid-American Conference mark . . . BSU has won two straight and four of its last six . . . Julie DeMuth continues to pace the team with 11.4 points, a league-leading 9.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game . . . Tina Bolte is second in scoring with a 10.6 average, while Raechelle Hampton is second in rebounding with 4.4 per game . . . Kelsey Corbin, who is averaging 8.8 points, tops the team with 4.2 assists per game . . . The Cardinals average 66.1 points and 37.4 rebounds, while yielding 64.1 points and 38.1 rebounds to their opponents . . . BSU is second in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio and offensive rebounds plus third in turnover margin.
SCOUTING KENT STATE: Kent State is 19-8 overall . . . The Flashes earned the No. 2 seed in the East Division and a first-round bye in the tournament after logging a 12-4 mark in MAC play . .. The Flashes have won two straight and six of their last seven . . . Lindsay Shearer, an All-MAC First Team selection in 2006 for the third-straight season, tops the league with 20.6 points per game . . . Shearer, who ranks among the league's top three in field goal percentage and free throw percentage, leads KSU with 7.1 rebounds per game . . . Sarah Burgess is second in scoring with a 9.6 average . . . Malika Willoughby tops the Mid-Am with 5.2 assists and 2.9 steals per game . . . The Flashes average 67.0 points and 37.9 rebounds, while giving up 59.2 points and 38.3 rebounds to their opponents . . . KSU tops the league with 11.2 steals per game.
LAST MEETING: Kent State turned a three-point first-half advantage into a 68-55 victory over Ball State Feb. 28 in Kent . . . Two early fouls limited Lindsay Shearer to just one point and six minutes of action in the first half . . . However, Shearer returned for the second half and scored 19 more to lead her team to the win . . . Tina Bolte led BSU with 15 points . . . Julie DeMuth had 12 points and tied her career high with 18 boards . . . Shearer led all scorers with 20 points . . . La'kia Stewart had 12 points and 15 rebounds, while Malika Willoughby added 12 scores . .. The Flashes shot 40 (24-of-60) percent from the field, while limiting the Cardinals to a .317 (19-of-60) percentage.
BALL STATE VS. KENT STATE: Ball State and Kent State have met 43 times with the Flashes claiming victory in 33 of those meetings . . . The series was launched with an 84-59 KSU win Dec. 15, 1979 . . . The teams traded wins early on, but the Flashes posted a 10-game winning streak versus BSU from 1990 through 1995 . . . The Cardinals won the second game between the teams in 1995, but Kent State reeled off 11-successive victories from there . . . The Flashes were victorious (68-55) in the only matchup between the teams this season, but BSU has won two of the last four meetings between the teams.
BALL STATE VERSUS KENT STATE IN MAC TOURNAMENT PLAY: Ball State and Kent State have met three times in MAC Tournament action with the Flashes victorious in all three meetings . . . The most recent matchup between the teams came in the championship game of the 2002 tournament, when top-seeded KSU posted a 73-59 win over the second-seeded Cardinals . . . No. 1 seeded KSU tallied a 111-73 victory in quarterfinal action in 1998 . . . The No. 1 seed in the 1996 event, Kent State scored an 87-61 win over Ball State in quarterfinal action . . . Both quarterfinal games were home games for KSU.
MAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Ball State is making its 16th appearance in the Mid-American Conference Tournament . . . The Cardinals earned top-three seeds in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006 . . . 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 . . . With its 71-46 victory over Akron in first-round action March 4, the Cardinals improved to 10-15 in MAC Tournament action.
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 are regular starters on this year's team and all three were regulars on last year's squad, which posted a 16-13 overall mark and an 11-5 MAC slate.
DEMUTH EARNS ALL-MAC ACCOLADES: Sophomore Julie DeMuth has been selected to the 2006 All-Mid-American Conference Third Team . . . A starter in 24 of the 27 games she has played this season, DeMuth tops BSU with 11.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game . . . She ranks No. 1 in the MAC in rebounds and places among league leaders in a total of six statistical categories . . . She has logged a MAC-best 10 double-doubles this season . . . DeMuth has totaled 19 double-figure scoring efforts and 10 double-digit rebounding marks this year . . . She has led BSU in scoring seven times and in rebounding 20 times.
EIGHT HUNDRED: Ball State's game against Akron marked the 800th women's basketball game at BSU . . . The Cardinals have posted a 32-year mark of 331-469.
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 9.1 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 and 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 24 double-figure scoring efforts . . . Her 455 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.
CORBIN TOP SERVER: Kelsey Corbin ranks first for Ball State and seventh 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 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 16 times this season . . . Her 283 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 posted a MAC-best .929 (39-of-42) from the line in league games only this season.
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 converted three of her first five 3-point field goals on the way to 14 points in BSU's 71-46 win over Akron March 4 . . . Earlier in the week against Northern Illinois (Feb. 28), she nailed her first three treys, eventually scoring 16 points to lead the Cardinals to a 65-53 victory over the Huskies . . . She ranks No. 2 in the MAC in 3-point field goals made (2.3) and No. 5 in 3-point field goal percentage (.360) . . . Bolte places No. 5 on BSU career charts in 3-pointers made (127) plus No. 6 in 3-point attempts (379).
RUSCHE OFF THE BENCH: Lisa Rusche has come off the bench to average 8.3 points and 2.8 rebounds over the past four 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 Feb. 28 . . . She had four points, four rebounds and two blocks in nine minutes against Akron March 4 . . . Over the four-game span, she has converted 12-of-18 field goals (.667) and 9-of-14 free throws.
HAMPTON-INGS: Raechelle Hampton notched her 10th double-figure scoring effort of the season -- the 23rd of her career -- with 11 points on 5-of-6 from the field in her final game at Worthen Arena March 4 versus Akron. . . Hampton has led the team in scoring twice this season and in rebounding three times . . . She has moved into Ball State's career charts in three categories, including No. 5 in games played (116), No. 7 in blocks (53) and No. 17 in rebounds (444).
PETITE DISH: 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 with 2.6 assists per game.
COTTON TALE: Erica Cotton made the first start of her collegiate career Dec. 10 versus Butler and has started in 17 of the 28 games she has played this season . . . As a starter, she averaged 8.7 points and 3.5 rebounds . . . She scored in double figures in seven games during the span . . . Cotton, who has led the team in scoring five times, averaged 8.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 16 MAC games.
SEEING GREEN: Porchia Green made her eighth start of the season March 4 versus Akron . . . She totaled seven points, three assists, two rebounds and a block in the contest . . . Green started BSU's first two games of the season before suffering an injury which sidelined her for six games . . . She resumed play Dec. 19 against Duke and returned to the starting lineup Feb. 15 against Toledo . . . Over the last six games as a starter, Green is averaging 5.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
BECCA'S BACK: After missing the first 14 games of the season due to a hip injury, junior Becca Bajorek has played in each of Ball State's past 14 games with five starts during the stretch . . . She made her first appearance of the campaign against Eastern Michigan Jan. 18 . . . Bajorek entered the game at the 17:06 mark in the second half and took just 49 seconds to score her first basket of the year . . . She made her first start of the season at Kent State Feb. 8 and has started each game since . . . She had a career-high 16 points against Toledo Feb. 15 . . . She also tied career-high marks in field goal attempts (11) and free throw attempts (6) versus the Rockets . . . She led BSU with seven rebounds against Akron in the first round of the MAC Tournament . . As a starter, she is averaging 8.8 points and 4.4 rebounds . . . Bajorek started 17 games last season.
ROSTER UPDATE: Junior Brandy Ross and senior Krista Stewart have 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 54-18 in home games over the last six campaigns for a .750 rate of success . . . BSU, which logged an 11-3 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 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, was 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 moved 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. 2 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 was 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 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 three more Cardinals -- Erica Cotton, Stephanie Douglas and Raechelle Hampton . . . 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 then 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, 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.
