MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State women's basketball team opened Mid-American Conference action with a strong showing on Wednesday night as the Cardinals downed West Division rival Toledo, 80-59, at Worthen Arena. The victory improves the Cardinals to 10-2 on the season and it extends their winning streak to four games.
“We wanted to come out tonight and show our home fans the type of basketball we have been playing since it has been awhile since we have played at home,” head coach Tracy Roller said. “We wanted to carry our momentum over from the non-conference season into our new season, the MAC season.”
Ball State was firing on all cylinders offensively as it connected on 57.9 percent of its shots from the field, including 66.7 percent in the second half. The Cardinal offense dished out a season-high 26 assists while the defense forced Toledo into 26 turnovers in the victory.
“We did a very good job of being patient and finding open shots tonight,” Roller said. “We were aggressive on the defensive end and we fed off of that momentum on the offensive end.”
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop H.S.) led the way offensively as she recorded her first double-double of the season and third of her career. She scored 14 points on six-of-seven shooting from the field and tied her career-high with 11 assists.
Junior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills H.S.) turned in a strong effort as she scored a game-high 18 points. Rusche was nine-of-15 from the field and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. She also led the charge on the defensive end with a season-high three blocked shots.
The Cardinals came out of the gate quickly as they roared to a 15-6 lead just five minutes into the game. Rusche and Corbin keyed the game-opening spurt as they combined for 14 of the first 15 BSU points.
Toledo (4-9, 0-1 MAC) weathered the early run and clawed back to within four points at 24-40 with just less than five minutes remaining. Ball State responded to the narrow score as it went on an 11-2 run to end the half and head into the locker room ahead, 35-22.
Junior Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) keyed the spurt with five points including an old-fashioned three-point play. Ball State closed out the half as freshman Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo H.S.) stole the ball and fed sophomore Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North H.S.) for a fast break basket as time expired in the half.
Ball State connected on 15-of-30 (50%) from the field in the opening frame despite hitting just one-of-nine from three-point land. The Cardinal defense forced Toledo into 16 first half turnovers as sophomore Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington H.S.) led the way with three steals.
The Cardinals came out in the second half and found their range from three-point land as they connected on six-of-six three-pointers in the half, including four in the first five minutes. Toledo pulled within 13 points at 51-38 but that is as close as the Rockets would get.
Ball State ran off a 15-3 run to seal the victory as the Cardinals took a 22-point lead with eight minutes remaining. Rusche again was in the middle of the action as she scored eight points in the spurt as the Cardinals got out in transition on the Rockets.
The Cardinals put an exclamation point on the victory as they closed the game on a 14-5 run to take home the 21-point victory. McDonald threw the final blow of the game as she nailed back-to-back three-pointers in the final minute to finish a perfect three-of-three from long range.
The Cardinals connected on 18-of-27 from the field in the second half as they reached the 80-point plateau for the second straight game and four time this season.
DeMuth finished the night with 13 points on five-of-eight shooting and also dished out three assists. Green added seven points, five rebounds, four assists and a game-high four steals in the all-around effort. Senior Becca Bajorek (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales H.S.) added nine points off the bench for the Cardinals.
Toledo finished the night shooting just 38.5 percent (25-of-65) from the field in its fourth straight loss. Danielle Bishop led the Rockets in scoring as she had 12 points but also finished with six turnovers. Lacey McNulty scored 11 points off of the bench while Savannah Werner added 10 points.
The Cardinals are 10-2 for just the second time in program history as they match the record of the 1974-75 team after 12 games. Ball State is also 1-0 in MAC play seventh time in the past 10 seasons.
Ball State will be back in action on Saturday afternoon as they host MAC rival Western Michigan. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Worthen Arena and is the second half of a basketball doubleheader.
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