LIVE STATS
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. ? The Ball State women's basketball team continues its road trip as the Cardinals take on perennial Atlantic 10 power Temple on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at the Liacouras Center. The Cardinals are in the midst of a stretch in which they play eight of 10 games away from home.
“Our team quickly returns to the road for another challenging game as we travel to Temple,” seventh-year head coach Tracy Roller said. “Temple will be a tremendous test with their athleticism and speed. The Owls are a well coached group who has had a very tough schedule and continues to improve each game. We look forward to this match up.”
Ball State enters the game with a 3-2 record on the young season after posting wins over Vermont and Northern Arizona to take home the La Quinta Inn & Suites Thanksgiving Tournament Championship. The Cardinals are averaging 70.6 points per game this season while holding opponents to 67.4 points per game.
The Cardinals are shooting a MAC-best 48.7 percent (114-of-234) from the field so far this season and 43.1 percent (28-of-65) from three-point land. Ball State is second in the MAC so far this season from the free throw line as it has connected on 78.2 percent (97-of-124) this season.
The Cardinals are the only team in the Mid-American Conference this season to have four different players averaging double figures. Senior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) leads the team in scoring at 16 points per contest and in rebounding at 7.6 boards per game. She is coming off of an MVP performance at the NAU Tournament as she averaged 21 points per game last weekend.
Junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) is second in scoring at 12.8 points per game. She leads the team in shooting as she has connected on 61 percent (25-of-41) from the field and 71.4 percent (five-of-seven) from three-point land. Sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) is third in scoring at 11.4 points per game and has hit 44.8 percent (13-of-29) from three-point land.
Senior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) rounds out the Cardinals' double figure scorers as she averages 10.4 points per game on 54.8 percent (23-of-42) shooting from the field. Junior point guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) is fifth in scoring at 7.8 points per game and leads the team with 22 assists on the year.
Temple enters the game with a 2-4 record on the season. Three of the Owls' four losses have come at the hands of nationally ranked opponents in #4 Stanford, #8 Duke and #8/10 Georgia. Temple's other lone came against Georgia Tech which is receiving votes in the Top 25 poll. The Owls are coming off of a tough loss against Stanford in which they owned a 17-point halftime lead against the fifth-ranked Cardinal before being out-scored 41-15 in the second half.
The Owls have picked up wins over MAC foe Central Michigan in the season opener and against #22/20 Purdue. Temple is averaging 58.5 points per game this season while allowing just 55.8 points against. The Owls have connected on 38.8 percent (126-of-325) from the field this season and 31.3 percent (30-of-96) from three-point land.
Guard Ashley Morris leads the team in scoring as she averages 16.8 points per game. She is the Owls' top three-point shooter at 38.9 percent (14-of-36). Center Lady Comfort, a second team All-Atlantic 10 last season, is second in scoring at 12.7 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 9.7 boards per contest.
Wednesday's game is first ever meeting between Ball State and Temple in program history. This marks the third straight game in which the Cardinals have met an opponent for the first time in program history (Vermont & Northern Arizona).
The Cardinals are 3-0 all-time against teams from the Atlantic 10 conference at the time of meeting. Ball State posted two victories last season against the A-10 with an 82-72 victory against Charlotte in the SPC Holiday Classic and a 69-63 victory at Xavier.
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