MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State women's basketball team will return home to Worthen Arena on Saturday night as the Cardinals host instate rival Indiana at 7 p.m. The Cardinals enter Saturday's game with a 1-1 record on the young season, while the Hoosiers come in with a 2-0 mark on the year.
The Cardinals are coming off of their first win of the 2007-08 season last Monday night, as they took home a 61-52 victory at Wright State. The Ball State defense turned in a strong performance as it forced Wright State into 28 turnovers and recorded 15 steals. Senior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) paced the attack with a team-high 11 points, while also recorded a career-high six steals.
Freshman forward Emily Maggert (Paris, Ill./Paris) turned in a solid pshowing in her second career game. She scored a career-high 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in 23 minutes off of the bench. She highlighted the Cardinal bench that scored 19 points in the victory. Classmate Shannon Klei (Coldspring, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) added points off the bench as she was two-of-five from three-point land.
Sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) leads the team in scoring through two games as she is averaging 13.5 points per game. She has connected on seven-of-15 (.467) from three-point land this season. Rusche is second in scoring at 12 points per game and is 10-of-16 (.625) shooting from the field.
Junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) rounds out the double figure scorers at 11.5 points per game. Junior point guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) is averaging eight points and five assists through two games this season. Senior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) chips in seven points per game as she is 10-of-13 (.769) from the free throw line.
Saturday's game is the 26th meeting all-time between Ball State and Indiana. The Cardinals trail the all-time series 3-22, including losses in the past 17 meetings. The game marks just the sixth trip for the Hoosiers to Muncie in program history and the first trip since the 2003-04 season.
Last season, the Cardinals dropped a 67-56 contest at Assembly Hall. The Cardinals and Hoosiers battled back-and-forth all game long and were within a basket until the final minute. Ball State had an uncharacteristically off night shooting as it hit just 18-of-56 (32.1%) from the field.
Rusche led the Cardinals in scoring with 15 points as she was nine-of-10 from the free throw line while DeMuth barely missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Green added 10 points while McDonald chipped in nine points in the loss.
Indiana enters the game with a 2-0 record on the season as the Hoosiers have won home games against Albany (67-59) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (74-56). The Hoosiers are shooting 40.3 percent (48-of-119) from the field, including just seven-of-33 (.212) from three-point land.
Leading the charge offensively is forward Amber Jackson as she averages 17 points and nine rebounds. Forward Whitney Thomas is second on the team at 16 points and nine rebounds while Nikki Smith rounds out the double figure scorers at 11 points per game.
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