Women?s Basketball Soars Into MAC Finals

CLEVELAND, Ohio ? For just the third time in program history, the Ball State women's basketball team is heading to the Mid-American Conference Tournament Finals as the Cardinals downed Northern Illinois, 83-72 on Friday afternoon in the tournament semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cardinals will meet 18^th ranked Bowling Green in the finals Saturday at 1 p.m. with the MAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on the line.

“Our trademark this season has been playing team basketball and today we came out and showed from start to finish,” head coach Tracy Roller. “We had a pretty good start and Porchia (Green) got us rolling with her energy. We are just blessed to be playing another day and this is a very special group of players.”

The victory improves the Cardinals to 24-5 overall on the season, which matches the program record for victories in a season with the 2001-02 season (24-8). The win advances the Cardinals to their first MAC Tournament Finals appearance since 2003 and their third in the Roller's six-year reign at the helm of the program.

Ball State, the top seed from the West Division, was firing on all cylinders offensively as the Cardinals connected on 28-of-58 (48.4%) from the field for the game. BSU was especially deadly from long range as the Cardinals hit 10-of-18 (55.6%) from three-point land. The Cardinals tied a program record with a perfect 17-of-17 performance from the free throw line in the victory. The perfect performance from the charity stripe is only the fifth time in school history that feat has happened and the 17 attempts are the most in a game without a miss in program and MAC Tournament history.

The Cardinals picked up their third win of the season over Northern Illinois thanks in large part to a balanced scoring attack as all five starters scored in double figures. Freshman guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo H.S.) paced the attack as she scored a team-high 18 points while sophomore guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington H.S.) poured in 16 points.

McDonald provided the spark in the second half as she scored 13 of her 18 points after the halftime break. She connected on four-of-seven from three-point land in the game and was a perfect four-of-four from the free throw line. Green ignited the Cardinals in the first half as she scored 12 of her 16 in the first 20 minutes. She was five-of-11 from the field, including two-of-three from three-point land in the first half.

The Cardinals opened the scoring quickly as McDonald hit her first three-pointer just nine seconds into the game. Green gave the Cardinals a 13-7 lead as she hit back-to-back three-pointers to spur the early BSU effort. Ball State jumped out to its biggest lead of the half at 28-17, courtesy of an 11-2 run in a two-minute stretch.

Junior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills H.S.) started the run with a basket in transition while senior guard Tina Bolte (Columbus, Ind./North H.S.) nailed the Cardinals' fourth three-pointer of the half.

Northern Illinois (19-12) tried to make a run before the break as it pulled within eight on two occasions but the Cardinals answered with big baskets to keep the lead near double digits. Sophomore guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North H.S.) nailed a three-pointer from the corner to answer a NIU basket, while junior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) scored off of a put-back to send BSU into the locker room ahead, 41-32.

The Cardinals connected on 16-of-30 (53.6%) from the field in the first half and hit five-of-nine (55.6%) from three-point land. Green paced the effort with 12 points in the opening frame while Rusche chipped in eight points. Northern Illinois connected on 14-of-30 (46.7%) in the first half and just four-of-11 (36.4%) from three-point land.

The Cardinals came out of the break and found the hot hand of McDonald who hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions out of the break. BSU took its largest lead of the afternoon at 54-39 as senior Becca Bajorek (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales H.S.) nailed a jumper and McDonald hit her third three-pointer of the half to give the Cardinals a 15-point lead.

Each time Northern Illinois was able to cut into the BSU lead, the Cardinals found a big shot to pull the lead back to double figures. NIU pulled within eight at 56-48 on a Mary Basic three-pointer but Bolte came down on the ensuing possession to nail a three-pointer of her own to push the lead back to 11 points.

The Cardinals sealed the victory from the free throw line as NIU pulled within seven points on two occasions in the final minute. Ball Sate nailed all eight of its free throws in the final minute as McDonald nailed four straight and DeMuth closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws with 22 seconds remaining.

The Cardinals' defense stepped up in the second half and held the Huskies to just 13-of-34 (38.2%) shooting in the half, including a one-of-10 start to the second frame. The Cardinals recorded seven steals in the victory as Green and senior guard Kelsey Corbin (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop H.S.) led the way with a pair apiece.

Rusche finished the game with 12 points and eight rebounds as she was six-of-11 from the field. DeMuth just missed a double-double as she added 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds. DeMuth was a perfect six-of-six from the charity stripe in the victory.

Corbin rounded out the double figure scorers as she added 11 points and dished out a team-high five assists. Bolte and Jarrett each finished the night with six points as they were both two-of-three from three-point land.

Northern Illinois was led by senior guard Stephanie Raymond who finished with 23 points and eight assists. Raymond was held to seven-of-18 shooting from the field in the loss. Forward Becky Smith posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies.

The victory was the third of the season for BSU over the NIU and the eighth straight win in the series overall for the Cardinals. The three victories this season over Northern Illinois is the first time BSU has pulled off a trifecta in the same season since the Cardinals won three against Western Michigan in the 1988-89 season.

The Cardinals will play for a MAC Tournament championship Saturday afternoon as they face off against #1E Bowling Green. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at the Quicken Loans Arena and will be broadcast on Comcast Local (Muncie channel 5).

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Players Mentioned

Becca Bajorek

Tina Bolte

Kelsey Corbin

Julie DeMuth

Porchia Green

Kiley Jarrett

Audrey McDonald

Lisa Rusche