MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State women's basketball ran its winning streak to eight straight as the Cardinals downed Mid-American Conference West Division rival Northern Illinois, 81-72, on Wednesday night at Worthen Arena. The victory improves the Cardinals to a program-best 14-2 record and keeps Ball State in sole possession of first place in the West Division with a 5-0 MAC record.
“Tonight was a battle against a very good Northern Illinois team and our team showed a lot of poise down the stretch to secure the victory,” head coach Tracy Roller said. “We got a great performance from Audrey (McDonald) tonight as she shot the ball really well. We worked hard on the offensive end as we made that one extra pass to find open looks and knocked down some big shots.”
The Cardinals blistered the nets all game long as they connected on 24-of-46 (52.2%) of their shots from the field. Ball State was on target from long range as it converted 10-of-15 three-point shots. The 66.7 percent shooting from three-point land is tied for the third highest total in a single game in BSU history.
Freshman guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo H.S.) led the charge offensively as she scored a career-high 23 points in the victory. McDonald connected on six-of-eight from the field, including four-of-six from three-point land. She also went to the free throw line a career-high 10 times and converted seven of her chances.
The Cardinals came out of the gate firing on all cylinders as they jumped out to a 12-7 lead just four minutes in as McDonald connected on two early three-pointers. Northern Illinois responded with a 14-4 run to take a 21-16 lead with back-to-back three-pointers from Jessie Wilcox.
Ball State battled back and took the lead with a 14-3 run of its own as the Cardinals took a seven-point lead. Senior guard Tina Bolte (Columbus, Ind./North H.S.) keyed the spurt as she nailed two three-pointers in the run while classmate Kelsey Corbin (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop H.S.) added just her second career three-pointer to give BSU its biggest lead of the half.
Northern Illinois (11-5, 3-2 MAC) pulled within two points at the break at 39-37 as the Huskies continued to hit long-range shots. NIU connected on 50 percent (14-of-28) from the field in the opening frame and nailed five-of-10 three-pointers. Ball State matched the Huskies shot-for-shot as it connected on 50 percent (14-of-28) as well but hit six-of-nine (66.7%) from long range.
Ball State fell behind out of the break at 43-42 just two minutes in but the Cardinals re-took the lead for good with an 11-1 run. The Cardinals hit three-pointers in three consecutive trips down the court as McDonald picked up a pair and sophomore guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington H.S.) netted the other. McDonald came up big to start the second half as she scored nine points in the first four minutes of the second frame.
Northern Illinois pulled within seven points with 13 minutes remaining but the Cardinals slammed the door shut with a 14-4 run to take their largest lead of the night at 69-52. The seniors led the charge in the final run as center Becca Bajorek scored six points in a three-minute stretch and Corbin added five points in the run.
The Cardinals ended any NIU comeback attempt as they hit eight-of-12 from the free throw line in the final three minute to seal the victory. BSU finished the night 23-of-33 (69.7%) from the charity stripe as it almost doubled the attempts from the line of the Huskies (33/17).
Corbin finished the night with 12 points as she connected on two-of-three from three-point land after entering the game with one three-pointer in 101 career games. Junior Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) added 11 points as she was three-of-five from the field and five-of-seven from the free throw line.
Green continued to contribute an all-around effort as she added eight points, five rebounds, four assists and a career-high three blocked shots. Bajorek chipped in eight points while Rusche added seven points. The Cardinals had nine different players score in the victory as Bolte added six and sophomore Kiley Jarrett notched five points.
Northern Illinois was paced by guard Stephanie Raymond who posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 assists. Center Kristin Wiener added 21 points as the Huskies only had four players score over three points in the loss.
The victory stretches the Cardinals win streak to eight straight games which is tied for the second longest winning streak in school history. Ball State has also tied a school record with 10 straight victories at home at Worthen Arena as the Cardinals have not lost at home since last February. BSU is 5-0 in MAC play for just the third time in program history and the first since the 2002-03 season.
The Cardinals will be back in action on Saturday afternoon as they enter a stretch of six-straight games against MAC-East Division opponents. The Cardinals will host regional rival Miami at 3 p.m. at Worthen Arena.
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