EVANSVILLE, Ind. ? The Ball State women's basketball team suffered a 70-55 setback on Saturday night to instate foe Evansville at Roberts Stadium. Senior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) led the Cardinals' attack in the loss as she posted her second straight double-double despite playing only 24 minutes due to foul trouble.
Junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) also turned in strong performance as she scored 10 points, dished out a season-high seven assists, grabbed five rebounds and recorded five steals in the loss. She finished the night four-of-seven shooting from the field and was two-of-two from the charity stripe.
The Cardinals (3-7) came out of the gate firing on all cylinders as they reversed the course from their last game and scored the first 11 points of the game. Redshirt freshman Kyleigh Jones (Elwood, Ind./Elwood) got things going with a three-pointer in transition in her first career start, while sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) sent the run into overdrive with back-to-back three-pointers.
Rusche scored on consecutive possessions to give the Cardinals a 13-2 lead. Evansville finally hit its first field goal of the game five minutes in as the two teams traded baskets. The Purple Aces responded to the slow start and scored seven straight points to pull within four points at 15-11.
After McDonald's third three-pointer gave the Cardinals a 20-11 lead, Evansville went on an 18-2 run, including 10-straight points, to take its first lead of the game and jump out to a 29-22 lead. The Purple Aces took advantage of the Cardinals foul trouble to Rusche and DeMuth during the run as they tallied 15 offensive rebounds in the first half and scored 15 second chance points in the opening frame. The Cardinals also turned the ball over 15 times in the first half, leading to 16 Evansville points.
Freshman forward Emily Maggert (Paris, Ill./Paris) stopped the Evansville run periodically with four straight points with a minute remaining to pull Ball State within three at 29-26. The Purple Aces scored five quick points in the final 39 seconds to head into the locker room with a 34-26 lead.
Ball State finished the first half shooting 45 percent (nine-of-20) from the field, despite hitting their first seven shots of the half. The Cardinals also shot 50 percent (four-of-eight) from three-point land after hitting its first three shots in the opening two minutes. McDonald led the Cardinals in the first half with nine points, while Jones chipped in five points.
Evansville rebounded from its slow start to finish 31.4 percent (11-of-35) from the field in the first half and was eight-of-10 from the free throw line. The Purple Aces hit 28.6 percent (four-of-14) from three-point land but connected on their final three of the half during their run. Guard Ashley Austin led Evansville with 11 points in the first half while Shannon Novosel chipped in eight points and six rebounds.
The Purple Aces came out of the halftime period and continued their strong play as they open on a 18-6 run to take a 52-33 lead eight minutes into the second half. The Cardinals tried to chip away at the deficit but every time they made a small run, Evansville was there to answer with a spurt of its own to keep the momentum on its side.
Ball State committed 24 turnovers in the loss and was out-rebounded by a 43-37 margin. The Cardinals finished the game shooting 39.2 percent (20-of-51) from the field in the loss, including just 38.5 percent (five-of-13) from three-point land. Evansville finished the game shooting 36.2 percent (25-of-69), as it attempted 18 more shots than the Cardinals due to 21 offensive rebounds. The Purple Aces connected on eight-of-23 (34.8%) from three-point land in the victory.
Rusche finished the game with a team-high 16 points and a season high 11 rebounds. She connected on seven-of-13 from the field while only playing 24 minutes. McDonald finished with 12 points as she was four-of-seven from three-point land.
Austin led the Purple Aces with 18 points as she was seven-of-15 from the field. Novosel posted a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. The Cardinals held Evansville's leading scorer Courtney Felke to just three points as she was one-of-seven from the field.
The Cardinals will be off the next 11 days for final exams and will return to action Dec. 20-21 as they travel to Las Vegas, Nevada for the Lady Rebel Christmas Classic. The Cardinals are set to meet perennial Big South power Liberty in the first game of the classic before facing either Austin Peay or host UNLV on the second day of the classic. All games will be held at Cox Pavilion.
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