DAYTON, Ohio ? The Ball State women's basketball team turned in a strong defensive effort as the Cardinals picked up their first win of the 2007-08 season on Monday night with a 61-52 victory over Wright State at the Nutter Center. The Cardinals forced Wright State into 28 turnovers, as they recorded a season-high 15 steals.
“Tonight was a gritty team defensive effort,” seventh-year head coach Tracy Roller said. “We got production up and down our bench today as everyone contributed to the victory. We showed a lot of resiliency and heart on such short rest to pull out the victory.”
Nine different Cardinals scored in the victory, including five players with at least eight points. Senior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) paced the Cardinals with 11 points while junior point guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) added 10 points in the victory.
The Cardinals received a strong performance from their bench as they tallied19 points from the reserves. Freshman forward Emily Maggert (Paris, Ill./Paris) paced the reserves with a career-high 10 points, while also grabbing six rebounds.
Wright State came out quickly against the Cardinals and jumped to an 11-4 lead just four minutes into the game. Ball State regrouped on the strength of Maggert who scored five points in a two minute stretch to pull the Cardinals within four points.
The Raiders continued to light up the nets in the early going as they connected on nine of their first 10 shots to take a 19-9 lead. The Cardinals answered as they broke out and scored nine unanswered to narrow the gap to 19-18. Sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) ignited the run with a three-pointer from the corner, while junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) added an old-fashioned three-point play off of a fast break.
The Cardinals finally got over the hump and took their first lead of the afternoon in the middle of a 10-3 run. Redshirt freshman Kyleigh Jones (Elwood, Ind./Elwood) scored her first collegiate points off of a drive to put the Cardinals ahead 24-23. McDonald hit a three-pointer in the spurt, while senior forward Rusche converted a three-point play.
Maggert capped the first half scoring as she connected on her first collegiate three-pointer to send the Cardinals into the locker room with a 33-27 lead. She finished the first half with eight points and four rebounds, while Rusche led all scorers in the half with nine points.
Ball State connected on 11-of-23 (47.8%) from the field in the opening half and hit eight-of-11 (72.7%) from the charity stripe. The Cardinals received strong production from their bench in the first half with 11 points from the reserves compared to just one point from the Raider bench. Wright State finished 12-of-19 (63.2%) in the half and was hampered by 15 first half turnovers.
Wright State came out in the second half much the same as the first half as the Raiders connected on seven of their first eight shots as they opened on an 11-2 run. Jarrett stopped the Wright State run as she converted a four-point play as she was fouled on a three-pointer in the corner to put the Cardinals up 39-38.
The Raiders re-took a slim four-point lead, but the Cardinals once again had an answer as they posted an 11-2 run to take the lead back for good at 50-45. The run was spurred by freshman guard Shannon Klei (Coldspring, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) who connected on two three-pointers in the spurt. The points were the first of her collegiate career for Klei.
The Cardinals' defense stepped up its play down the stretch as it limited Wright State to just five points in the final six minutes of the game. Ball State forced the Raiders into six turnovers in the final five minutes and just two field goal attempts down the stretch as the Cardinals closed on a 9-2 run.
Ball State finished the game 19-of-43 (44.2%) from the field and six-of-14 (42.9%) from three-point land. The Cardinals aggressive play sent them to the foul line 25 times as they converted on 17 attempts. The BSU defense turned in a season-high 15 steals in the victory with Rusche leading the charge with a career-high six steals.
Green finished the night with nine points as she was five-of-nine shooting. She also dished out three assists and recorded three steals. McDonald added eight points and three steals, while Klei finished with six points. Jarrett dished out a game-high five assists for the Cardinals, four coming in the second half.
Wright State finished the night 21-of-36 (58.3%) from the field but only went to the foul line 11 times in the loss. Sierra Crayton led all scorers with 14 points before fouling out after 26 minutes while Kanisha Ward added 13 points.
The Cardinals will be back in action on Saturday evening as they return to Worthen Arena to face the Indiana Hoosiers. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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