Defense Leads Women?s Basketball To 71-49 Victory At Akron

Akron, Ohio ? The Ball State women's basketball team extended its winning streak to 10 straight games as the Cardinals downed Mid-American Conference foe Akron, 71-49, on Tuesday night at Rhodes Arena. The victory improves the Cardinals' program best start to 16-2 on the season and 7-0 in MAC play.

“We came out with great intensity in the first half on the defensive end and used that momentum on the offensive end in the second half,” head coach Tracy Roller said. “We got some great minutes from the bench tonight and we picked up a quality win on the road.”

Ball State, which picked up three votes today in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, forced the Zips into 29 turnovers as it tallied a season-high 15 steals. Junior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) paced the defense as she recorded a career-high six steals. The Cardinals forced Akron into just five first half field goals and a season-low 16 first half points.

The Cardinals had four different players scored in double figures in the victory with DeMuth leading the way with 15 points. She was four-of-six shooting from the field and seven-of-10 from the charity stripe. Senior Tina Bolte (Columbus, Ind./North H.S.) added 12 points off of the bench as she connected on four-of-seven from three-point land.

The Cardinals came out of the gate and jumped to an 11-3 lead six minutes into the game behind the strong play of senior guard Kelsey Corbin (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop H.S.) Corbin scored eight of the Cardinals' first 11 points, including six straight in under a minute of action.

Ball State forced an Akron timeout as freshman Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo H.S.) nailed her first three-pointer of the night to give BSU a 16-5 lead. The Cardinals extended their lead to 18-points and forced another Zip timeout as they put together a 12-2 run. McDonald was the key cog to the run as she nailed back-to-back three-pointers to give the Cardinals a 28-10 lead.

Sophomore guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington H.S.) hit lay-up in the final seconds to send the Cardinals into the locker room with their largest lead of the half at 36-16. The Cardinal defense keyed the strong first half as it forced Akron into 18 first half turnovers and just 25 percent (five-of-20) shooting from the field.

Ball State connected on just 11-of-31 (35.5%) from the field in the opening frame, including four-of-14 (28.6%) from three-point land. The Cardinals took advantage of the Akron turnovers and scored 15 points off of the miscues. BSU also was strong from the free throw line as it hit 10-of-14 (71.4%) from the stripe. McDonald and Corbin each paced the attack with 10 first half points apiece.

The Cardinals came out in the second half and slammed the door shut on the Zips from the beginning. BSU posted a 12-2 run to take a 52-23 lead just seven minutes into the second half. DeMuth keyed the spurt with seven points in the run while Bolte added a three-pointer to force an Akron timeout.

BSU shot 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from the field in the second half and hit four-of-seven (57.1%) from three-point land. The Cardinals finished the night 23-of-53 (43.4%) from the field in the victory and notched eight three-pointers.

McDonald finished the night with 12 points as she connected on three-of-eight from long range while Corbin added 11 points and five assists. Green dished out a career-high eight assists in the victory as the Cardinals dished out 18 helpers on 23 field goals.

Akron (7-12, 0-7 MAC) finished the night 16-of-46 (34.8%) from the field in the loss and just four-of-13 (30.8%) from long range. Niki McCoy posted a double-double in the losing effort with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds.

The Cardinals' 10-game winning streak is the second longest winning streak in school history as it is just shy of the school-record 11-game winning streak in the 2000-01 season. BSU is also 7-0 in MAC play for just the second time in program history and one win shy of the best start in conference play (8-0, 2000-01).

The Cardinals will be back in action on Saturday afternoon as they host MAC-East Division foe Ohio. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Worthen Arena.

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Defense Leads Women?s Basketball To 71-49 Victory At Akron

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Players Mentioned

Tina Bolte

Kelsey Corbin

Julie DeMuth

Porchia Green

Audrey McDonald

Players Mentioned

Tina Bolte

Kelsey Corbin

Julie DeMuth

Porchia Green

Audrey McDonald

Defense Leads Women?s Basketball To 71-49 Victory At Akron

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tina Bolte

Kelsey Corbin

Julie DeMuth

Porchia Green

Audrey McDonald

Related News

Players Mentioned

Tina Bolte

Kelsey Corbin

Julie DeMuth

Porchia Green

Audrey McDonald

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