MUNCIE, Ind. ? Ball State senior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week on Monday afternoon for her efforts in leading the Cardinals to the La Quinta Inn & Suites Thanksgiving Tournament Championship in Flagstaff, Ariz. This is DeMuth's first weekly award of the season and the fourth weekly honor of her career.
“Julie is very deserving of this honor as she led us to two strong team victories this past weekend,” seventh-year head coach Tracy Roller said. “She turned in a very gritty performance as she battled through illness all weekend long. Her determined play helped us bring home a tournament championship.”
DeMuth was named Tournament Most Valuable Player after guiding the Cardinals to victories over Vermont and host Northern Arizona. She has now been named tournament MVP for four straight midseason tournaments dating back to her sophomore season. She averaged 21 points in the two victories as she shot 50 percent (12-of-24) from the field and 84.2 percent (16-of-19) from the free throw line. She also averaged nine rebounds per game while averaging just 26.2 minutes per game.
Against Vermont, she was unstoppable as she scored a tournament-high 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in 29 minutes. She hit seven-of-14 shots from the field and was 12-of-15 from the charity stripe. She followed that performance up with a 16-point effort against NAU in just 24 minutes of action. She was five-of-10 from the field against the Lumberjacks and hit all four of her free throws.
DeMuth is averaging 16 points and 7.6 rebounds per game so far this season. She is shooting 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the field and 80 percent (32-of-40) from the free throw line. DeMuth and the Cardinals will return to action Wednesday night when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa., and face perennial Atlantic 10 power Temple at 7 p.m.
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