Women's Basketball Faces Western Michigan Saturday

Women's Basketball Opens MAC Play At Home Wednesday

February 16, 2007 | Women's Basketball

By: Ball State Athletics

What's On Tap . .

The Cardinals continue their road trip as they travel to Mid-American Conference West Division rival Western Michigan this afternoon. The Cardinals enter today's contest with a 19-4 record overall and have won two straight games. Ball State has a 10-2 record in MAC play and holds a three-game lead for first place in the West Division over Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois, with four games remaining.

Western Michigan comes into today's game with an 11-15 record overall and a 4-8 mark in MAC play. The Broncos have also won two straight games and are playing their third straight home game this afternoon.

Series History . . .

Today's game is the 56th meeting all-time between Ball State and Western Michigan. The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 24-31 mark dating back to the first meeting in 1974-75. The Cardinals have won four straight meetings against the Broncos, including the last two meetings in Kalamazoo.

Ball State knocked off Western Michigan, 76-60, earlier this season at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals claimed the victory courtesy of a 22-5 second half run in which they forced WMU to 10 straight misses from the field.

Junior forward Lisa Rusche paced the attack as she scored a team-high 15 points on seven-of-13 shooting from the field. Rusche scored 11 points in the second half, including nine in the Cardinals' game-deciding run. She fell just shy of a double-double as she finished with nine rebounds and posted three blocked shots.

Sophomore guard Porchia Green posted her second double-double of the year as she scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. Green connected on six-of-seven from the field in the game and grabbed eight of her 10 rebounds in the second half.

Senior Kelsey Corbin had a strong all-around performance as she almost posted a double-double for the second straight game. Corbin finished the night with 10 points, eight assists and grabbed six rebounds for the Cardinals. Julie DeMuth chipped in 12 points as four Cardinals scored in double figures.

Seniors Becca Bajorek and Tina Bolte each added eight points apiece off of the bench while sophomore guard Kiley Jarrett dished out a season-high five assists.

Corbin Honored . . .

Senior guard Kelsey Corbin was named the MAC West Division Player of the Week on Monday. She averaged 19.5 points per game in the Cardinals' two games against the top two teams in the MAC East Division. She connected on 78.9 percent (15-of-19) from the field against 17th ranked Bowling Green and Kent State. She was also a perfect nine-for-nine (100%) from the charity stripe in the two games.

Corbin scored a career-high 27 points against BGSU as she was nine-of-12 from the field and nine-of-nine from the line. In the victory over Kent State, she scored 12 points, including nine in the second half as the Cardinals rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit. She connected on six-of-seven from the field against the Golden Flashes.

Heading to the Line . . .

Junior forward Julie DeMuth has been to the free throw line a team-high 164 times this season and has hit on 124 (75.6%). Her 164 attempts and her 124 makes this season are both already career-highs.

She is already second all-time in single season free throws made at 124. She needs just two free throws to claim the single season record from Markita Griffin (125 in 1998-99). She is also just 20 attempts shy of Griffin's single season mark of 184.

For her career, she has connected on 285 career free throws. She currently sits in eight place all-time in career free throws made and is within 100 free throws of the career record of 379 by former BSU great Tamara Bowie.

Stepping Up Big . . .

The Cardinals' success this season can be attributed to players up and down the lineup stepping up big this season. The Cardinals have four players who have already surpassed their single season best for scoring this season.

Sophomore guard Porchia Green leads the way as she has scored 251 points this season. Her previous high for a season was just 83 points as a freshman. Junior Lisa Rusche has tallied 236 points this season, surpassing her previous high of 86 points as a sophomore.

Senior guard Kelsey Corbin has also come up with a new career-high as she has scored 269 points this year to pass her total of 241 points as a junior. Junior Julie DeMuth rounds out the players with new career high scoring seasons as she has now scored 344 points, surpassing her total of 320 points from last season.

Combined, the four players have scored 349 more points so far this season than their best single season total in prior years (1,097-730).

19 and Counting . . .

The Cardinals' 19 victories so far this season has already surpassed last season's win total of 17 (17-12). The 19 victories are also tied for the third most wins in a single season in program history, matching the total from the 2000-01 team.

The Cardinals' program record for victories is 24 wins in the 2001-02 season. Ball State's next victory will climb the Cardinals' win total to 20 victories for just the third time in the program's 33-year history.

24 wins

(2001-02)

21 wins

(2002-03)

19 wins

(2006-07 & 2000-01)

17 wins

(2005-06, 1989-90,

1974-75)

16 wins

(1999-2000, 2004-05)

10 and Counting . . .

The Cardinals' 10 victories in MAC play are fourth most in a single season. This is the sixth season in which BSU has reached double figures in MAC wins in program history.

The Cardinals won a record 13 MAC games in the 2001-02 season while pulling in 12 wins in the 2002-03 season. BSU won 11 games on three different occasions: 2004-05, 2000-01, and 1996-97 seasons.

In Good Company . . .

The Cardinals enter today's game as one of five teams in the nation to be in the top 16 in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage.

The Cardinals are 16th in the nation in field goal percentage at 46.0 percent while they are 12th in the nation from long range at 38.3 percent. BSU is joined in this elite company by Maryland (22-2), Vanderbilt (21-4), Wisconsin-Green Bay (19-3), and Bowling Green (22-2). The combined record of the teams is 102-15 on the season, good for a .871 winning percentage.

Keep On Rolling . . .

The Cardinals' 19-4 record is the best start after 23 games in program history. The Cardinals' previous best start was in the 2001-02 season when they opened 18-4. BSU finished the 2001-02 team posted a 24-8 overall mark.

BSU is also 10-2 in Mid-American Conference action this season. The 10-2 mark is tied for the best start program history in MAC play with the 2001-02 season. That year, the Cardinals finished a program best 13-3 in conference action.

Spreading It Around . . .

The Cardinals are one of only two teams in the Mid-American Conference this season that has four of five starters averaging double figures on the season. Julie DeMuth leads the charge at 15.0 followed by Kelsey Corbin (11.7), Porchia Green (10.9), and Lisa Rusche (10.3).

Freshman Audrey McDonald is just under 10 points per game at 9.5. The Cardinals have had five players average double figures for most of the season.

In fact, only 17th ranked Bowling Green even has four players averaging double figures. Six MAC teams have three players averaging double figures in Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Western Michigan.

Cardinals In NCAA Stats . . .

The Cardinals as a team are in the top 42 in seven statistical categories in the NCAA Division I so far this season. Leading the way for BSU is its three-point shooting which is 12th in the nation at 38.3 percent. The Cardinals are also 16th in field goal percentage (46.0), 23rd in assists per game (16.3), 23rd in won/loss percentage (82.6), 29th in scoring offense (73.4), 29th in three-pointers made per game (6.2) and 42 in scoring margin (+10.5)

Individually speaking, freshman guard Audrey McDonald is 16th in the nation in three-point percentage at 42.5 percent. Maryland's Kristi Toliver leads the nation at 50.4 percent. McDonald is also 64th in the nation in three-pointers per game at 2.2.

Senior guard Kelsey Corbin is 73rd in the nation in assists per game at 4.3 while sophomore Porchia Green is 71st in the nation in steals per game at 2.4.

RPI Watching . . .

The Cardinals and their 19-4 record have been making some noise in the RPI rankings this season. Ball State is listed as high as 37 by RealTimeRPI.com. The Cardinals are also listed 49th by CollegeRPI.com, 49th by RPIRatings .com and 52nd by the Sagarin Report.

The Cardinals are listed at 49th in the latest NCAA RPI listings on February 11th.

BSU also listed as an at-large selection on in the latest bracket projection on CollegeRPI.com and has a projected RPI of 34. ESPN.com's Bracketology also has the Cardinals earning an at-large bid in the latest projection as a number 10 seed (2/12/07).

Last Time Out . . .

The Cardinals reached 19 victories for just the fourth time in program history on Wednesday night as they took home a 66-50 victory at Toledo.

Junior forward Julie DeMuth turned in a career-best performance as the Cardinals swept the season series from Toledo for just the third time in program history. DeMuth posted her eighth double-double of the season and 21st of her career as she tied her career-high with 28 points and set a new career-high with 19 rebounds. Her 19 rebounds are tied for the second most in a single game in program history and surpassed her previous high of 18 rebounds.

Ball State used a strong defensive effort in the victory as it held the Rockets to just 32.2 percent (19-of-59) shooting from the field in the game. The Rockets were held to just five-of-16 (31.3%) shooting from three-point land and connected on just 58.3 percent from the charity stripe.

The Cardinals finished the second half 10-of-20 (50%) from the field to post a 40.7 percent (22-of-54) field goal percentage for the game. BSU connected on 16-of-22 (72.7%) from the free throw line in the game and controlled the glass as it out-rebounded Toledo, 43-36.

The Cardinals had six players scored five or more points in the victory. Junior forward Lisa Rusche finished just shy of a double-double as she scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds. Tina Bolte added nine points as she was three-of-five from long range in the game.

Porchia Green turned in a strong all-around performance as she scored seven points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out a career-high eight assists, tallied two blocks and picked up two steals. Senior Kelsey Corbin added six points while Kiley Jarrett finished with five points in the victory.

Big Boards . . .

Junior Julie DeMuth set a new career-high on Wednesday as she grabbed 19 rebounds at Toledo. The 19 rebounds are tied for second most in a single game, trailing two 20-rebound effort from Emma Jones and one from Shelley Silk .

Scouting the Cardinals . . .

The Cardinals enter today's game with a 19-4 record as they have won 13 out of their last 15 games. Ball State also has a 10-2 mark in MAC play and sits alone in first place in the MAC-West Division with a three game lead over Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois.

The Cardinals are averaging 73.4 points per game this season and are holding opponents to just 62.9 points per game. BSU is also shooting 46.0 percent from the field and has connected on 38.3 percent from three-point land.

The Cardinals have four out of five starters averaging double figures this season. Junior Julie DeMuth leads the team in scoring at 15 points and rebounding at 8.6 boards per game. Senior Kelsey Corbin is second on the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game and leads the team in assists at 100.

Sophomore Porchia Green is third on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game and is second in rebounding at 6.7. Junior Lisa Rusche rounds out the double figure scorers as she averages 10.3 points per game and is third in rebounding at 6.6 caroms per contest.

Freshman Audrey McDonald is fifth on the team in scoring as she chips in 9.5 points per game. She leads the team and the conference in three-point percentage as she has connected on 42.5 percent of her long range shots.

Scouting the Broncos . . .

Western Michigan comes into today's game with an 11-15 record overall and a 4-8 mark in MAC play. The Broncos are averaging 71.2 points per game this season and are allowing opponents to score 73.1 points per game. WMU has connected on 42.7 percent of its shots from the field and 30.3 percent from three-point land.

The Broncos are led in scoring by senior guard Carrie Moore. Moore leads the MAC and the nation in scoring as she averages 25.3 points per game. She has tallied three games of 35-plus points so far this season.

Lindsey Brown in second on the team in scoring as she averages 12.2 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 8.2 boards per game. Guard Tiera DeLaHoussaye is third on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game and leads the conference in assists at 160.

Academic Honors . . .

Senior guard Kelsey Corbin has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V Second Team for women's basketball by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Corbin, a three-time team captain, owns a 3.66 GPA in psychology and has guided the Cardinals to a 17-4 overall record this season. This is her first Academic All-District honor of her career after picking up Academic All Mid-American Conference honors last season and MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honors earlier this season.

Buckling Down . . .

The Cardinals turned in a strong defensive performance earlier this month as they held Buffalo to just 44 points in the victory. The 44-point effort by the Bulls is the lowest output by a BSU opponent since Northern Illinois scored 41 in the 2004-05 season.

The Cardinals also held Buffalo to just 14 first half points which was a season-low. The last time an opponent was held to 14 or fewer points in the opening half was back in December of 2002 when the Cardinals held Wright State to 14 points.

Raining Threes . . .

Freshman guard Audrey McDonald has already connected on 51 three-pointers this season. Her 51 three-pointers are tied for ninth most in a single season in BSU history. She just past Markita Griffin and Kelli Hipsher and moved into a tie with Johna Goff for ninth place.

Goff holds the single season record of 78 three-pointers made in the 2002-03 season.

6th - Markita Griggin (59)

t-7th - Tina Bolte (52)

t-7th - Kate Endress (52)

t-9th - Audrey McDonald (51)

t-9th - Johna Goff (51)

t-11th - Markita Griffin (49)

t-11th - Kelli Hipsher (49)

Block Party . . .

Junior forward Lisa Rusche is second in the MAC with 33 blocks this season. Her 33 rejections are already fifth most in a single season in BSU history. She just moved into sole possession of fifth place as she past Tamara Bowie and Julie Lozier.

Bowie holds the single season record of 57 blocked shots in the 2002-03 season.

1st - Tamara Bowie (57)

2nd - Bowie (39)

3rd - Shelley Silk (38)

4th - Char Thomsen (36)

5th - Lisa Rusche (33)

t-6th - Bowie (31)

t-6th - Julie Lozier (31)

Dishing Out the Helpers . . .

The Cardinals lead the MAC in assists per game this season at 16.2. BSU has stepped up its passing in conference action as it is averaging 16.8 helpers per game.

Senior Kelsey Corbin is seventh in the MAC in assists at 4.48 per game and third in assists/turnover ratio at 1.77. Sophomore Porchia Green is 11th in the conference in assists at 3.76 per game and fourth in ratio at 1.72.

Cleaning the Glass . . .

The Cardinals enter today's game with a 13-1 record on the season when they out-rebound their opponent. Ball State though, is ninth in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding offense at 35.8 boards per game. The Cardinals have controlled the boards on the other end as they are third in the MAC in rebounding defense as they allow just 33.8 boards per game. BSU is third in the conference in rebounding margin at +2.0 boards per game.

Did You Know? . . .

The Cardinals are 13-2 this season when they score at least 70 points in a game. Ball State is also 17-1 when it holds opponents under the 70-point mark. .

Owning the Glass . . .

Junior guard Julie DeMuth leads the Cardinals and is second in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding this season at 8.6 rebounds per game.

She led the Cardinals and the MAC in rebounding last season with 249 boards. DeMuth became just the fourth Cardinal all-time to lead the MAC in rebounding joining the likes of Jessica Reiter (2004-05), Christy Jones (1999-00) and Karen Bauer (1981-82).

DeMuth's 249 rebounds were the eighth most in a single season at BSU.

She became just the 14th player in Ball State history to reach the 500-career rebound plateau with her 16-board effort against Illinois State.
She moved into sole possession of ninth place all-time with with her six rebounds against Buffalo. She just moved into sole possession of seventh place with her 19 rebounds against Toledo. She now has 655 career caroms Jamie Lehotsky for seventh place. She needs eight rebounds to move into six place all-time as she would tie Kate Endress.

4th - Karen Bauer (760)

5th - Stephanie McQuinn (678)

6th - Kate Endress (663)

7th - Julie DeMuth (655)

8th - Jamie Lehotsky (642)

9th - Char Thomsen (630)

10th - Shelley Silk (618)

11th - Alana Hancock (586)

12th - Glena Rusch (540)

It's Trey Day . . .

Senior Tina Bolte led the Cardinals last season with 67 three-pointers made on the year. Her 67 three-pointers were the fifth most in a single season at BSU.

Bolte is second on the team this season with 37 three-pointers. She moved into sole possession of third place all-time earlier this season against Northern Illinois. She enters today's game with 169 career three-pointers.

1st - Johna Goff (253)

2nd - Kate Endress (205)

3rd- Tina Bolte (169)

4th - Markita Griffin (152)

5th - Alana Hancock (139)

Lending a Helping Hand . . .

Senior guard Kelsey Corbin leads the team in assists with season with 100. She became just the seventh player all-time to reach 300 career assists earlier this season. She enters today's game fourth all-time in career assists at 386.

She past Stephanie McQuinne for the fourth place all-time in career assists against Akron.

1st - Shala Crook (628)

2nd - Jenny Eckert (471)

3rd - Johna Goff (447)

4th - Kelsey Corbin (386)

5th - Stephanie McQuinne (364)

6th - Jane Emkes (346)

7th - Alana Hancock (302)

Double-Trouble . . .

Junior Julie DeMuth led the Mid-American Conference in double-doubles last season as she posted 10 double dips as a sophomore and already has recorded seven double dips so far this season. She is currently second in the MAC this season with her six double-doubles.

DeMuth posted her first double-double of the 2006-07 season against Wright State as she scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. She has since added double-doubles against Illinois State, Xavier, St. Peter's, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Ohio and Toledo. She is second in the MAC this season with eight double-doubles, trailing only Rachel Frederick (Ohio) and Sarah VanMetre (EMU) who both have nine.

She moved into sole possession of third place all-time in career double-doubles at Ball State earlier this year as she surpassed former BSU standout Kate Endress.

Below is a list of the all-time double-doubles in BSU history:

Emma Jones - 49

Tamara Bowie - 31

Julie DeMuth - 21

Kate Endress - 14

Milestone Victory . . .

Earlier this season, the Cardinals claimed an 82-72 victory over Charlotte in the championship game of the SPC Holiday Classic was a milestone victory for head coach Tracy Roller as it was her 100th career victory at the helm of the Cardinals. She becomes just the third coach, men's or women's, in Ball State history to reach 100 career victories as she joins Ray McCallum and Jim Hinga. Ironically, both Roller and McCallum both reached 100 victories in their 162nd game.

Roller, who already the all-time winningest women's coach in program history, brings a 110-63 record into today's contest.

Non-Conference Success . . .

The Cardinals posted a program-best 9-2 record in the non-conference season this year. The nine victories are the most in a single season since Ball State joined the Mid-American Conference.

The Cardinals previously posted their best non-conference record of 8-3 on two different occasions (2001-02 & 2000-01)

9-2 - 2006-07

8-3 - 2001-02 & 2000-01

7-3 - 1989-90

8-4 - 2002-3

7-4 - 2005-06 & 1999-2000

Winning Streaks . . .

The Cardinals had their 10-game winning streak snapped last weekend with their loss against Ohio. The 10-game winning streak is the second longest in program history and is the second winning streak this season for the Cardinal's of five games or more.

11 games

(2000-01)

10 games

(2006-07)

Eight Games

(2001-02 & 1974-75)

Six Games

(2002-03, 1985-86)

Protect This House . . .

The Cardinals also had their program-record 11-game home winning streak snapped last weekend. The 11-game streak is the longest ever in BSU history, surpassing the old record of 10-straight victories.

11 straight home victories

(2005-06 - 2006-07)

10 straight home victories

(2000-01 - 2001-02)

Nine straight home victories

(1999-00 - 2000-01)

Midseason Tournaments . . .

The Cardinals have picked up two midseason tournament championships this season with the BSU Credit Union Classic and the SPC Holiday Classic. This is just the second season in which Ball State has secured two titles during the same year. The last time BSU accomplished the feat was in the 1999-2000 season.

MAC Stats . . .

Heading into today's game, the Cardinals have four players in the top 30 in scoring in the MAC with Julie DeMuth (10th), Kelsey Corbin (23rd), Porchia Green (26th), and Lisa Rusche (30th). The Cardinals also have three players in the top 15 in rebounding with DeMuth (3rd), Green (14th) and Rusche (15th).

McDonald is first in the MAC in three-point shooting at 42.5 percent Senior Tina Bolte is fourth at 39.5 percent while Green would lead the MAC at 42.6 percent if she had enough attempts to qualify.

Corbin is second in the conference in field goal percentage at 54.3. Green is second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio at 1.82, while Corbin is sixth at 1.54. Rusche is ninth in the conference in field goal percentage (47.3) and second in blocks at 33.

Career Nights . . .

So far this season, Ball State has posted some strong individual performances. The Cardinals have had six different players turn in a career-high scoring performance so far this season. Senior guard Kelsey Corbin and sophomore guard Porchia Green turned in career-high performances last week at 17th ranked Bowling Green. Corbin scored 27 points while Green added 24 points for the Cardinals.

Freshman Audrey McDonald recorded a career-high 23 points against Northern Illinois.

Junior forward Lisa Rusche leads the way with her 36-point effort against Butler. Classmate Julie DeMuth has posted a career-high 28 points on two different occasions this season. Once at Illinois State in non-conference play, and once last game at Toledo.

Freshman Kalynne Proctor recorded a new career-high as she scored 11 points against Miami.

History in the Making . . .

For the first time in program history, BSU had two true freshmen score in double figures in their collegiate debuts when Audrey McDonald and Kalynne Proctor recorded the feat against Michigan on Monday night. McDonald scored 14 points while Proctor added 10 points. They are the first set of freshmen to reach double figures in the first career game in the 33-year history of Cardinal women's basketball.

Preseason Prognosticators . . .

Ball State was picked to finish third in the Mid-American Conference West Division in the preseason poll conducted by league coaches and members of the MAC News Media Association.

Ball State received 157 total votes including six first place votes in the West Division as four different teams garnered first place tallies. Defending divisional champion Easter Michigan was picked to finish first in the West with 241 total votes and 21 first place votes while Western Michigan was tabbed for second with 188 votes and eight first place picks. Northern Illinois, Toledo and Central Michigan round out the preseason poll for the West Division.

Defending MAC Champion and NCAA Tournament participant Bowling Green was picked to repeat in the East Division with 245 total votes and 40 first place votes. Kent State was tabbed for second while Miami, Ohio, Buffalo and Akron round out the East Division predictions.

Radio Air Time . . .

The Cardinals will again have most of their games broadcast on the student station WCRD 91.3. All games broadcast by WCRD will also be streamed online at www.ballstatesports.com. Kyle Trompeter, Karl Mandik and Joel Nickels will do the honors for WCRD.

Ball State will also have 15 regular season games broadcast on Muncie's WXFN 1340 AM Jay Garrison will handle the play-by-play duties this season. WXFN will also broadcast from the MAC Tournament.

Looking Ahead . . .

The Cardinals will return home for their final two regular season home games as they host Central Michigan on Wednesday night and Eastern Michigan on Saturday afternoon.

The contest against CMU is a 7 p.m. start and will be broadcast on Comcast Local (Muncie Channel 5). Saturday's game against EMU is Fan Appreciation Day and Senior Day for the Cardinals' trio of seniors (Becca Bajorek, Tina Bolte, & Kelsey Corbin).