Women's Basketball Hosts Ohio Saturday

Women?s Basketball Falls At Evansville, 70-55

January 26, 2007 | Women's Basketball

By: Ball State Athletics

What's On Tap . .
The Cardinals close out January at Worthen Arena as they host MAC-East Division foe Ohio this afternoon. The Cardinals come into today's game with a 16-2 record overall and have won 10-straight games. BSU is also alone in first place in the MAC-West Division with a 7-0 mark in conference play.

Ohio enters today's game with a 10-9 overall record and a 3-4 mark in MAC action. The Bobcats have alternated wins and losses over the past six games. They are coming off of a two-point victory over Northern Illinois last Tuesday night at home.

Receiving Votes . . .
For the first time since the 2000-01 season, the Ball State women's basketball team has garnered votes in the latest edition of the Associated Press National Poll that was released on Monday afternoon. The Cardinals, off to the best start in program history at 16-2, picked up two votes to sit in a tie for 38th place in the Week 12 poll.

The Cardinals also picked up three votes in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll as they are also in 38th place.

Ball State is receiving votes for the first time since the 2000-01 season. That year, the Cardinals entered the poll with nine votes in 38th place and moved as high as 28th place three weeks later with 28 total votes.

The Cardinals are one of two MAC teams to receive votes this week in the AP poll as Bowling Green is ranked 16th in this week's poll.

Fast Starts . . .
The Cardinals are off to their best start in program history after 18 games with a 16-2 overall record. The Cardinals surpassed the 1974-75 season for the best start with the win at Eastern Michigan.

The Cardinals are also 7-0 in MAC play for just the second time in program history. BSU opened the 2000-01 season with eight straight victories top open MAC action. The Cardinals can match that start this afternoon.

Winning Streaks . . .
The Cardinals have won 10 straight games heading into today's contest with Ohio. The 10-game winning streak is the second longest winning streak in program history. The Cardinals have a chance to match the longest winning streak in program history this afternoon as BSU won a record 11-straight games in the 2000-01 season.

The 10-game winning streak is also tied for the seventh longest current winning streak in NCAA Division I with MAC rival Bowling Green. The nation's longest winning streak is 22 games by North Carolina.

11 games
(2000-01)
10 games
(2006-07)
Eight Games
(2001-02 & 1974-75)
Six Games
(2002-03, 1985-86)

Protect This House . . .
The Cardinals are 7-0 this season at home at Worthen Arena and have won a school record 11 straight home games dating back to last season. BSU's 28-point victory over Miami on Saturday gave the Cardinals the record as it surpassed the 10-game home winning streak between the 2000-01 season and the 2001-02 season.

The current 11-game home winning streak is 16th longest current home winning streak in NCAA Division I. LSU leads the nation with 41 consecutive home victories while Bowling Green is second at 26 straight.

11 straight home victories
(2005-06 - 2006-07)
10 straight home victories
(2000-01 - 2001-02)
Nine straight home victories
(1999-00 - 2000-01)

Series History . . .
Today's game is the 49th meeting all-time between Ball State and Ohio. The season series is tied at 24-24 heading into today's game. The Cardinals have won nine straight games in the series and 11 of the last 13 meetings with the Bobcats.

Last season, BSU took home an 80-63 victory at Ohio as the Cardinals jumped out to an 11-point halftime lead. Forward Julie DeMuth led the charge with a double-double as she scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

Center Becca Bajorek added 10 points off of the bench for the Cardinals.

Last Time Out . . .
The Cardinals ran their winning streak to 10 straight games on Tuesday night as they picked up a 71-49 victory at Akron. The Cardinal defense stepped up in the victory as it forced the Zips into 29 turnovers as it tallied a season-high 15 steals. Junior forward Julie DeMuth 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 added 12 points off of the bench as she connected on four-of-seven from three-point land.

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.

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

Scouting the Cardinals . . .
The Cardinals enter today's game with a 16-2 record overall on the season and a 7-0 mark in Mid-American Conference action. The Cardinals are leading the MAC in scoring offense this season at 74.8 points per game while allowing just 62.3 points per contest. BSU leads the MAC in field goal percentage as it connects on 47.1 percent of shots and leads in three-point shots as well at 40.3 percent.

The Cardinals have all five starters averaging double figures this season with junior Julie DeMuth pacing the charge at 14.7 points per game. DeMuth is also leading the team in rebounding at 8.3 boards per game.

Senior Kelsey Corbin is second in scoring at 11.3 points per game and leads the team in assists with 82. Sophomore Porchia Green is third on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game, is second in rebounding at 6.5 boards per game, second in assists at 68 and leads the team in steals at 46.

Freshman guard Audrey McDonald is fourth in scoring at 10.6 points per game and leads the MAC in three-point shooting as she has connected on 45-of-91 (49.5%). Junior Lisa Rusche rounds out the double figure scorers as she chips in 10.4 points per game and is third on the team in rebounding at 6.2.

Scouting the Bobcats . . .
Ohio enters today's game with a 10-9 record overall and a 3-4 mark in MAC play. The Bobcats are averaging 68.1 points per game, while allowing 64.8 points per game. Ohio is connecting on 42.1 percent from the field this season and 34.1 percent from three-point land.

Guard Lauren Kohl leads the team in scoring this season as she averages 15.4 points per game. Sophomore Rachel Frederick, the MAC Freshman of the Year last season, is second on the team in scoring at 13.9 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounding at 8.5 boards per contest.

Hot Shooting . . .
The Cardinals lit up the nets the past two home games from long range as BSU posted back-to-back nights of 66.7 percent shooting from three-point land. The 66.7 percent is tied for the third highest in a single game in BSU history. The Cardinals connected on 10-of-15 against Northern Illinois and eight-of-12 against Miami.

Spreading It Around . . .
The Cardinals are the only team in the Mid-American Conference this season that has all five starters averaging double figures on the season. Julie DeMuth leads the charge at 14.7 followed by Kelsey Corbin (11.3), Porchia Green (10.9), Audrey McDonald (10.6) and Lisa Rusche (10.4).

Kent State is the only team in the MAC that has four players averaging double figures. Six MAC teams have three players averaging double figures (Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo and Western Michigan)

RPI Watching . . .
The Cardinals and their 16-2 record have been making a steady climb in the RPI rankings this season. The Cardinals enter today's game rated as high as 31st by RealtimeRPI.com. The Cardinals are rated 34th by RPIRatings.com. BSU is rated 37th by The Sagarin Report and 41st by CollegeRPI.com.

The Cardinals are also listed in the first projected bracket as an at-large team by CollegeRPI.com and ESPN.com's Bracketology.

Road Warriors In February . . .
The Cardinals will be on the road for a good part of February as they play five of their last eight games away from Worthen Arena. The Cardinals play three of their first four games in February on the road.

Cardinals In NCAA Stats . . .
The Cardinals can be found all over the NCAA statistical reports this season, both as a team and as individuals. The Cardinals are in the top 50 in seven statistical categories as a team and in the top 100 in 12 categories heading into the week.

Ball State's highest team category is third in the nation in three-point percentage at 40.5 percent. BSU trails the top spot slightly, as Vanderbilt is in first at 41.3 percent. The Cardinals are also 10th in the nation in field goal percentage at 47.3 percent are and are 16th in won/loss percentage at .882.

The Cardinals are also 23rd in scoring offense (75.1), 24th in assists per game (16.9), 25th in three-point field goals per game (6.6), and 40th in scoring margin (+12.0).

Individually speaking, freshman Audrey McDonald is second in the nation in three-point percentage at 50.6. She trails just Sidney Spencer of Tennessee (51.9) for the top spot. McDonald is also 36th in the nation in three-pointers per game at 2.5.

Sophomore guard Porchia Green is 55th in the nation in steals per game at 2.6. Senior Kelsey Corbin is 63 in the nation in assists per game at 4.5 while junior Julie DeMuth is 76th in the nation in rebounding at 8.6.

Cleaning the Glass . . .
The Cardinals enter today's game with a 10-0 record on the season when they out-rebound their opponent. Ball State though, is ninth in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding offense at 35.8 boards per game. The Cardinals have controlled the boards on the other end as they are second in the MAC in rebounding defense as they allow just 33.6 boards per game. BSU is second in the conference in rebounding margin at +2.2 boards per game.

Assist Machine . . .
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin has been dishing out assists left and right through the first five games of MAC play this season. Corbin, who leads the team with 82 assists on the year, is averaging a league best 6.2 assists per game in conference games. She dished out 11 assists against Toledo, eight helpers against Western Michigan, seven assists at Central Michigan and six helpers at Eastern Michigan.

Did You Know? . . .
The Cardinals are 12-1 this season when they score at least 70 points in a game. Ball State is also 13-1 when it holds opponents under the 70-point mark.

DeMuth Honored . . .
Junior forward Julie DeMuth became the second Cardinal this season to earn MAC-West Division Player of the Week honors when she received the accolade last week. DeMuth led the Cardinals to back-to-back victories at Central Michigan and at Eastern Michigan.

DeMuth, a preseason All-MAC recipient, posted back-to-back double-doubles in the Cardinals' victories at Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. She posted a double-double at Central Michigan with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in the overtime victory. She followed that up with a 14 point, 14 rebound effort at preseason MAC-West Division favorite Eastern Michigan.

DeMuth leads the Cardinals in scoring and rebounding this season as she averages 14.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. She is tied for second in the conference in rebounds per game and is eighth in scoring in the MAC. She has now recorded six double-doubles this season and tallied 19 for her career.

Milestone Victory . . .
Earlier this season, the Cardinals claimed an 82-72 victory over Charlotte in the championship game of the SPC Holiday Classic was a milestone victory for head coach Tracy Roller as it was her 100th career victory at the helm of the Cardinals. She becomes just the third coach, men's or women's, in Ball State history to reach 100 career victories as she joins Ray McCallum and Jim Hinga. Ironically, both Roller and McCallum both reached 100 victories in their 162nd game.

Roller, who already the all-time winningest women's coach in program history, brings a 107-61 record into today's contest.

Television Exposure . . .
The Cardinals will have four MAC games televised this season, with two games as part of the MAC television package and two games on the Ball State Sports Network (BSSN).

The Cardinals were on BSSN for the first time this season Wednesday against Northern Illinois. Former BSU player Raechelle Hampton provided color commentary, along with play-by-play from Wil Hampton.

The Cardinals return to the BSSN on Jan. 27 when they host Ohio at Worthen Arena at 1 p.m. Hampton will again provide play-by-play duties while former BSU standout Kate Endress will provide the color commentary.

Ball State, who has already appeared on Comcast Local once this season, will have back-to-back MAC games aired later this season. The Cardinals' Feb. 17 game at Western Michigan and the Feb. 21 game at home against Central Michigan will be seen on Comcast Local.

Non-Conference Success . . .
The Cardinals posted a program-best 9-2 record in the non-conference season this year. The nine victories are the most in a single season since Ball State joined the Mid-American Conference.

The Cardinals previously posted their best non-conference record of 8-3 on two different occasions (2001-02 & 2000-01)

9-2 - 2006-07
8-3 - 2001-02 & 2000-01
7-3 - 1989-90
8-4 - 2002-3
7-4 - 2005-06 & 1999-2000

Midseason Tournaments . . .
The Cardinals have picked up two midseason tournament championships this season with the BSU Credit Union Classic and the SPC Holiday Classic. This is just the second season in which Ball State has secured two titles during the same year. The last time BSU accomplished the feat was in the 1999-2000 season.

MAC Stats . . .
Heading into today's game, the Cardinals have all five starters in the top 32 in scoring in the MAC with Julie DeMuth (12th), Kelsey Corbin (24th), Porchia Green (85th), Audrey McDonald (30th) and Lisa Rusche (32nd). The Cardinals also have three players in the top 18 in rebounding with DeMuth (t-4th), Green (14th) and Rusche (18th).

Freshman Audrey McDonald is first in the MAC in three-point shooting at 49.5 percent while Green is second at 45.8 percent. Two Cardinals are in the top eight in field goal percentage with Corbin (4th) and Rusche (8th).

Career Nights . . .
So far this season, Ball State has posted some strong individual performances. The Cardinals have had five different players turn in a career-high scoring performance so far this season. Freshman Audrey McDonald recorded a career-high 23 points against Northern Illinois. Sophomore guard Porchia Green turned in a career-high 22 points against Charlotte.

Junior forward Lisa Rusche leads the way with her 36-point effort against Butler while classmate Julie DeMuth added 28-points at Illinois State.

Freshman Kalynne Proctor recorded a new career-high on Saturday afternoon as she scored 11 points against Miami.

Owning the Glass . . .
Junior guard Julie DeMuth leads the Cardinals and is third in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding this season at 8.3 rebounds per game.

She led the Cardinals and the MAC in rebounding last season with 249 boards. DeMuth became just the fourth Cardinal all-time to lead the MAC in rebounding joining the likes of Jessica Reiter (2004-05), Christy Jones (1999-00) and Karen Bauer (1981-82).

DeMuth's 249 rebounds were the eighth most in a single season at BSU.

She became just the 14th player in Ball State history to reach the 500-career rebound plateau with her 16-board effort against Illinois State. She moved into 10th place all-time in career rebounds with her 14-rebound effort at Eastern Michigan. She sits alone in 10th with 607 career boards as she past Alana Hancock.

7th - Jamie Lehotsky (642)
8th - Char Thomsen (630)
9th - Shelley Silk (618)
10th - Julie DeMuth (607)
11th - Alana Hancock (586)
12th - Glena Rusch (540)

It's Trey Day . . .
Senior Tina Bolte led the Cardinals last season with 67 three-pointers made on the year. Her 67 three-pointers were the fifth most in a single season at BSU.

She took over sole possession of third place all-time in career-three-pointers made as she overtook Markita Griffin. against NIU. She is alone in third place with 159 career three-pointers.

1st - Johna Goff (253)
2nd - Kate Endress (205)
3rd- Tina Bolte (159)
4th - Markita Griffin (152)
5th - Alana Hancock (139)

Lending a Helping Hand . . .
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin leads the team in assists with season with 82. She became just the seventh player all-time to reach 300 career assists earlier this season. She enters tonight's game fourth all-time in career assists at 368.

She past Stephanie McQuinne for the fourth place all-time in career assists on Tuesday night against Akron.

1st - Shala Crook (628)
2nd - Jenny Eckert (471)
3rd - Johna Goff (447)
4th - Kelsey Corbin (368)
5th - Stephanie McQuinne (364)
6th - Jane Emkes (346)
7th - Alana Hancock (302)

Double-Trouble . . .
Junior Julie DeMuth led the Mid-American Conference in double-doubles last season as she posted 10 double dips as a sophomore and already has recorded six double dips so far this season. She is currently second in the MAC this season with her six double-doubles.

DeMuth posted her first double-double of the 2006-07 season against Wright State as she scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. She has since added double-doubles against Illinois State, Xavier, St. Peter's, Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. She moved into sole possession of third place all-time in career double-doubles at Ball State earlier this month as she surpassed former BSU standout Kate Endress.

Below is a list of the all-time double-doubles in BSU history:

Emma Jones - 49
Tamara Bowie - 31
Julie DeMuth - 19
Kate Endress - 14

Rusche's Romp . . .
Junior forward Lisa Rusche turned in a stellar performance last weekend at the Hoosier Classic against Butler as she scored a career-high 36 points. Rusche's 36 points are the fourth most points scored all-time by a Cardinal in a game and the most since Tamara Bowie notched a program-best 40 points in 2002.

Rusche, whose previous career-high was 13 points, surpassed her old career-high just 12 minutes into the game on her way to 19 first half points. She connected on 15-of-23 from the field in the BSU victory and was six-of-eight from the charity stripe. She also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for her second career double-double. She also dished out two assists, registered a block and a steal in just 30 minutes of action.

History in the Making . . .
For the first time in program history, BSU had two true freshmen score in double figures in their collegiate debuts when Audrey McDonald and Kalynne Proctor recorded the feat against Michigan on Monday night. McDonald scored 14 points while Proctor added 10 points. They are the first set of freshmen to reach double figures in the first career game in the 33-year history of Cardinal women's basketball.

Preseason Prognosticators . . .
Ball State was picked to finish third in the Mid-American Conference West Division in the preseason poll conducted by league coaches and members of the MAC News Media Association.

Ball State received 157 total votes including six first place votes in the West Division as four different teams garnered first place tallies. Defending divisional champion Easter Michigan was picked to finish first in the West with 241 total votes and 21 first place votes while Western Michigan was tabbed for second with 188 votes and eight first place picks. Northern Illinois, Toledo and Central Michigan round out the preseason poll for the West Division.

Defending MAC Champion and NCAA Tournament participant Bowling Green was picked to repeat in the East Division with 245 total votes and 40 first place votes. Kent State was tabbed for second while Miami, Ohio, Buffalo and Akron round out the East Division predictions.

Radio Air Time . . .
The Cardinals will again have most of their games broadcast on the student station WCRD 91.3. All games broadcast by WCRD will also be streamed online at www.ballstatesports.com. Kyle Trompeter, Karl Mandik and Joel Nickels will do the honors for WCRD.

Ball State will also have 13 regular season games broadcast on Muncie's WXFN 1340 AM Jay Garrison will handle the play-by-play duties this season. The 15 games broadcast on WXFN are:

Nov. 18 - Wright State
Nov. 25 - Howard
Nov. 26 - BSU Credit Union
Dec. 2 at Butler
Dec. 10 vs. Valparaiso *
Dec. 18 at Indiana *
Jan. 3 - Toledo
Jan. 6 - Western Michigan
Jan. 17 - Northern Illinois
Jan. 20 - Miami
Jan. 27 - Ohio
Feb. 11 - Kent State
Feb. 17 at Western Michigan
Feb. 21 - Central Michigan
Feb. 24 - Eastern Michigan
MAC TOURNAMENT