Ball State University
Central Michigan
Women?s Basketball Rallies Past Central Michigan In Overtime
January 10, 2007 | Women's Basketball
“We feel pretty blessed to come out of here with a victory after one of our worst first half performances of the season,” head coach Tracy Roller said. “I am so proud of our players as they showed great poise and gutted out the victory. We had a lot of players step up and make big plays on both ends of the floor down the stretch.”
The Cardinals came out cold shooting to start the game as they fell behind 15-4 in the first eight minutes of the half. The Cardinals clawed back within five points at 22-17 as freshman forward Kalynne Proctor (
The Cardinals connected on just 11-of-30 (36.7%) from the field in the opening frame, including just two-of-eight (25%) from three-point land.
The Cardinals came out of the second half and took the first lead of the night at 36-35 as senior guard Kelsey Corbin (
The teams traded runs for the rest of the second half as the Cardinals posted a 9-0 run to take a 50-46 lead as sophomore Porchia Green (
The Cardinals forced overtime with two big stops on the defensive end in the final minute of the second half. Rusche made the first stand with a block with 34 seconds remaining and the Cardinals forced an inbound with two seconds remaining with a foul at mid-court. The Chippewas were unable to get a shot off in the final seconds to force BSU's first overtime since last season at
“We came up with some big stops on the defensive end to force overtime,” Roller said. “This team learned how to grind out a victory tonight as they showed a lot of heart and determination to secure the victory.”
The Cardinals came out in the overtime period and took control of the game as they opened with an 8-2 run. Rusche gave the Cardinals the lead for good after winning the tip when converted a lay-up off an assists from DeMuth.
After baskets from Corbin and Green, DeMuth sealed the victory with five points in the overtime period, including an old-fashioned three-point play that put the Cardinals ahead by seven.
Rusche led the Cardinals on the offensive end as she finished the night with 16 points on six-of-10 shooting from the field and four-of-five shooting from the charity stripe. Rusche also was key on the defensive end as she finished with eight rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals.
Green posted her third double-double of the season and second straight as she finished with 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Green connected on six-of-14 shooting from the field, including three three-pointers in the second half.
DeMuth also turned in a double dip as she finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the year. The two double-doubles in a single game is the first for the Cardinals this season and the first since December of 2005 when DeMuth and Raechelle Hampton accomplished the feat at
Corbin added 10 points, seven assists and five rebounds in the victory while Proctor finished with eight points in her first action since the second game of the season.
The Cardinals dominated the glass after their slow start as they out-rebounded
The Cardinals will be back in action on Saturday night as they travel to
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