Ball State University
Kent State
Second Half Surge Powers Women?s Basketball Past Kent State
February 11, 2007 | Women's Basketball
“I am proud of our team today as they battled back with a great half of basketball on both ends of the court,” head coach Tracy Roller said. “We have been looking to get back to
The Cardinals out-scored the Golden Flashes 38-24 in the second half as they held KSU to just nine field goals in the frame and just 33.3 percent shooting. In contrast, BSU connected on 57.1 percent from the field in the second half, including three-of-four from long range. The Cardinals also attacked the glass in the second half as they out-rebounded
Junior forward Julie DeMuth (
“Our defense in the second half was as strong as it has been all season long,” Roller said. “We buckled down in every possession. Every time we needed to get a big rebound it seemed like Lisa (Rusche) or Julie (DeMuth) was there in the second half.”
The Golden Flashes answered with a 9-2 to re-take the lead and pulled out to their biggest lead of the game with another 9-2 run to close the half ahead, 45-36. KSU took advantage of some hot shooting from three-point land as the Golden Flashes hit eigh-of-12 (66.7%) from long range in the opening frame. Kristin Peoples led the charge with 13 points as she connected on three-of-five three-pointers in the first half.
The Cardinals connected on 14-of-28 (50%) from the field in the first half but only hit two-of-seven (28.6%) from three-point land. BSU took advantage of 10 first half steals in the first half as DeMuth led the charge with three thefts. Freshman Kalynne Proctor (
After a KSU basket, the Cardinals went on a 9-2 run in three minutes to take the lead back for the first time since early in the first half. Rusche keyed the run as she scored seven of the nine points, including an old-fashioned three-point play to pull BSU within one at 60-59. Corbin gave the Cardinals a 61-60 lead as she scored on a lay-up after a KSU turnover.
The two teams answered basket for basket over the next two minutes until freshman guard Audrey McDonald (
The Cardinals nailed their free throws in the final seconds, including two by Jarrett to ice the game. BSU finished the afternoon 17-of-23 (73.9%) from the charity stripe and 26-of-49 (53.1%) from the field. The Cardinals also connected on five-of-11 (45.5%) from the field in the game, including their last three of the game.
Corbin finished the game with 12 points as she was six-of-seven from the field. She also dished out three assists, notched three steals and tallied two blocked shots in the victory. Jarrett finished with nine points as she was a perfect two-of-two from the field and four-of-four from the charity stripe.
Bolte added nine points on three-of-five shooting from three-point land while Proctor added seven points. Green finished with eight points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and one blocked shot.
Kent State was led by Peoples who was held to just four second half points, with three coming on an off-balanced three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining. Kerrie James added 15 points as she hit two three-pointers in the loss.
The victory is the Cardinals' 18th of the season and surpasses their win total from last season. The 18 wins are the fourth most wins in a single season in program history, while the 18-4 mark is their best after 22 games. The Cardinals are also 9-2 in MAC play for just the second time in school history, matching the 2000-01 season.
The Cardinals will be back in action on Wednesday night as they return to MAC-West Division play as they battled
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