MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State women's basketball team used a 22-5 second half run to secure a 76-60 victory over Mid-American Conference West Division rival Western Michigan on Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena. The victory improves to the Cardinals to a program-best 11-2 record on the season and a 2-0 mark in MAC play.
“We came into the week wanting to post a 2-0 start to MAC play and we were able to accomplish that today with a strong team effort,” head coach Tracy Roller said. “The pressure was on us in the second half when Western Michigan took the lead but we responded perfectly as our seniors, Kelsey, Tina, and Becca, provided us great leadership down the stretch.”
Junior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills H.S.) paced the attack as she scored a team-high 15 points on seven-of-13 shooting from the field. Rusche scored 11 points in the second half, including nine in the Cardinals' game-deciding run. She fell just shy of a double-double as she finished with nine rebounds and posted three blocked shots.
Sophomore guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington H.S.) posted her second double-double of the season as she scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. Green connected on six-of-seven from the field in the game and grabbed eight of her 10 rebounds in the second half.
The Cardinals came out of the gate quickly as they jumped to an early 6-2 lead as junior Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) scored two of their first three baskets. Western Michigan responded with a 12-2 run against the Cardinals as it took a 16-10 lead.
Ball State had an answer for the Broncos as it responded with a 9-2 run to take the lead back at 19-18 and forced a WMU timeout. Senior Tina Bolte (Columbus, Ind./North H.S.) keyed the spurt with a three-pointer from the wing while Green scored off of a steal from freshman guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo H.S.) to give BSU the lead.
The two teams battled back and forth for the rest of the half as they traded baskets until the final thirty seconds when Green's energy spurred the Cardinals. She nailed a pair of free throws to give BSU a two-point lead, picked the pocket of the WMU guard and found McDonald for a three-pointer in transition to give the Cardinals a 35-30 lead heading into the break.
The Cardinals connected on 14-of-29 (48.3%) from the field in the opening frame as Green and DeMuth each scored eight first half points. Western Michigan connected on 13-of-28 (46.4%) from the field but Carrie Moore, the leading scorer in NCAA Division I, was held to just four points in the half.
Western Michigan (7-9, 0-2 MAC) came out in the second half and took advantage of some cold BSU shooting. The Broncos battled back and used a 12-6 run to re-take the lead eight minutes into the half at, 48-46.
The Cardinals responded to the adversity as they scored 12 of the next 13 points on their way to a 22-5 run that slammed the door shut on the Broncos. The run was keyed by Rusche who scored nine points in the spurt, including an old-fashioned three-point play that gave the Cardinals the lead for good.
Senior center Becca Bajorek (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales H.S.) added four points in the run off of the bench and Green chipped in four points as the Cardinals turned up the tempo on both ends of the court. The Cardinal defense forced the Broncos into an 0-for-10 slump as it notched three blocked shots.
The Cardinals finished the night 27-of-58 (46.6%) shooting from the field despite an uncharacteristically poor shooting night from three-point land (three-of-13). Ball State made up for its tough night from long-range as it connected on 15-of-17 (90.5%) from the charity stripe in the victory. The Cardinals controlled the glass in the victory as they out-rebounded WMU, 41-30.
Senior Kelsey Corbin (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop H.S.) had a strong all-around performance as she almost posted a double-double for the second straight game. Corbin finished the night with 10 points, eight assists and grabbed six rebounds for the Cardinals. DeMuth chipped in 12 points as four Cardinals scored in double figures.
Seniors Bajorek and Bolte each added eight points apiece off of the bench while sophomore guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North H.S.) dished out a season-high five assists.
Western Michigan finished the night 23-of-58 (39.7%) from the field in the loss. Moore finished the night with a game-high 17 points, almost 10 points below her season average. Forward Lindsey Brown posted a double-double in the loss with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
The Cardinals are 11-2 for just the second time in program history matching the mark of the 1974-75 team after 13 games. Ball State is also 2-0 in conference play for just the seventh time in program history and the first since the 2003-04 season.
The Cardinals will be back in action on Wednesday night as they travel to Mount Pleasant, Mich. for a contest against MAC foe Central Michigan. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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