MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State women's basketball team led #21/23 Louisville at the half and was within four late in the second half before falling 81-62 in the season opener on Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena. Louisville closed the game on a 14-0 run to give Ball State its first loss in a season opener since the 2003-04 season.
“Obviously, we are disappointed with our start and the finish, but we played a lot of really good basketball in between,” seventh-year head coach Tracy Roller said. “The talent level that our team showed was equal to the talent level of a great Louisville team. We are not happy with the result, but we realize that it is early in the year. We did a lot of good things in the game that we can build on and learn from down the road.”
Four different Cardinals scored in double figures in the loss with sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) leading the way with a team-high 19 points. Louisville also placed four players in double figures with Candyce Bingham leading the charge with a game-high 20 points.
Louisville came out of the gate quickly against the Cardinals as it used a full court press from the tip to jump out to a quick 20-7 lead through the first seven minutes. The Cardinals brushed off their first-game jitters and settled into the game after back-to-back scoring trips from seniors Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) and Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills).
Ball State got the crowd going as it ran off a 12-2 run to pull within three points at 26-23. DeMuth started the run with four straight points while Rusche added a third basket in transition. McDonald forced a Louisville timeout with a three-pointer in the corner to pull within four points. After a Louisville basket, Rusche connected on her first career three-pointer to send the crowd into a frenzy.
Louisville had an answer though as it scored six quick points. The Cardinals responded again with six points of their own. Ball State finally got over the hump and took its first lead of the game right before halftime. The Cardinals closed the half on an 8-1 run to go into the locker room with a 39-36 lead.
Junior guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) sparked the run with four free throws, including the final two with 5.9 seconds left in the half. McDonald hit a big three-pointer to tie the game at 36 apiece and hit a free throw off a technical foul to give BSU its first lead.
Ball State connected on nine-of-21 (42.9%) from the field in the first half, including four-of-nine (44.4%) from three-point land. The Cardinals were aggressive in the first half as they went to the line 21 times, converting on 17 attempts. Louisville was 16-of-32 (50%) from the field in the opening frame but only went to the line four times in the first half.
The two teams came out in the second half and battled back-and-forth as the game was knotted up at 46-46, five minutes into the half. Louisville took control and ran off a 12-0 run to take a 58-46 lead with 11:03 remaining in the game.
Ball State showed its resiliency as it didn't back down and answered with a 13-5 run to pull within four at 63-59. McDonald ignited the spurt as she hit back-to-back three pointers to give the Cardinals the momentum. Green was the catalyst as she returned from the bench after sitting due to foul trouble and scored seven straight points, including her first three-pointer of the season to cap the run.
The Cardinals were not be able retake the lead down the stretch as they went the final seven minutes without a basket. Louisville closed the game with 14 unanswered points to claim the victory.
Ball State finished the game 17-of-48 (35.4%) shooting from the field and seven-of-18 (38.9%) from three-point range. The Cardinals only attempted five free throws in the second half to finish 21-of-26 (80.8%) from the charity stripe. Louisville ended 35-of-66 (53%) from the field and just five-of-17 (29.4%) from three-point land.
Green scored 14 points for the Cardinals as she was five-of-nine from the field. McDonald finished five-of-10 from three-point land and four-of-seven from the charity stripe. Rusche chipped in 13 points while DeMuth added 10 points and seven rebounds. DeMuth connected on eight-of-10 from the free throw line, but was limited to just three field goal attempts in the loss.
Louisville's Angel McCoughtry, the Big East Preseason Player of the Year, scored 19 points as she was nine-of-17 from the field. Brandie Radde added 16 points and Chauntise Wright chipped in 15 points. Patrika Barlow dished out a career-high 16 assists for Louisville.
Ball State will be back in action on Monday night as it hits the road for the first time in 2007-08. The Cardinals will travel to Wright State for a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Nutter Center.
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