Women's Hoops Hosts Kentucky In WNIT Monday

March 18, 2007 | Women's Basketball

By: Ball State Athletics

What's On Tap . . .

The Cardinals enter the 2007 postseason with a second round appearance in the Women's National Invitation Tournament as they host SEC foe Kentucky. The Cardinals come in with a 24-6 overall record and have won five of their last six games. Ball State is coming off of a regular season in which it took home the Mid-American Conference West Division championship with a 13-3 conference mark.

Kentucky comes into tonight's game after picking up a 65-56 victory in the first round of the WNIT at Oakland. The Wildcats bring a 19-13 overall record into the game as they finished 6-8 in the SEC.

Tickets . . .

Tickets for the WNIT are $7 for adults and $4 for high school age kids and younger. Also, -- Through the generous support of the Stoops Automotive Group, The Ball State Federal Credit Union and Muncie Power Products, Ball State students can attend Monday's WNIT game against Kentucky or Oakland for free.

A limited amount of FREE tickets for Ball State students-only will be available starting at 10 a.m. Monday morning at the Worthen Arena Ticket Office. Tickets will be distributed while supplies last.

Ball State students can bring up to three additional student IDs to claim the free tickets.

WNIT History . . .

This is the Cardinals' third appearance all-time in the WNIT, with all three appearances coming under the guidance of head coach Tracy Roller. The Cardinals participated in the WNIT in both 2002 and 2003 so no current Cardinals have ever played beyond the MAC Tournaments.

In its last appearance in 2003, Ball State took home a 97-87 overtime victory at Indiana State in the first round. The Cardinals were eliminated in the second round of the tournament with an 88-77 defeat at Missouri.

The Cardinals also played two games in 2002 as they defeated Louisville 95-84 in the first round at Worthen Arena. BSU bowed out of the tournament with a 77-69 loss at home to instate foe Valparaiso.

Series History . . .

Tonight's meeting is the first ever meeting between Ball State and Kentucky. In fact, the Cardinals have only faced two teams from the Southeastern Conference in program history as BSU dropped a game against Auburn (2000-01) and against Mississippi State (1998-99).

Last Time Out . . .

The Cardinals fell in the 2007 Mid-American Conference Tournament final to 18th ranked Bowling Green, 67-53 to end their run at the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Senior guard Kelsey Corbin led the Cardinals in the loss as she scored 15 points. She connected on four-of-10 from the field and was seven-of-10 from the free throw line in the game. She became the 17th player in Ball State history to reach the 1,000-career point mark with a basket in the second half and the first player since former standout Kate Endress to join the elite company.

Ball State struggled from the field in the game as the Cardinals connected on just 18-of-53 (34%) in the game. Bowling Green was on fire on the offensive end as the Falcons connected on 28-of-46 (60.9%) from the field in the game to overcome 20 turnovers.

Sophomore Porchia Green finished the night with 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals as she played all 40 minutes in the loss. She connected on three-of-four from three-point land in the game as the Cardinals hit five-of-13 (38.5%) from three-point land. Junior forward Lisa Rusche scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds as she was limited because of foul trouble.

All-Tournament Honors . . .

Junior Julie DeMuth was named to the All-Tournament team of the MAC Tournament as she guided the Cardinals to the championship game. She averaged 14.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in the tournament. She connected on 88.9 percent from the free throw line (16-of-18) in the three games.

She becomes the first BSU player to pick up All-Tournament accolades since 2003 when Tamara Bowie and Kate Endress were named to the team.

Grand Company . . .

Senior guard Kelsey Corbin became the 17th player in Ball State history to reach 1,000-career points as she joined the elite company in the MAC Tournament final. Corbin scored 15 points in the final to enter the WNIT with 1,004 career points. She becomes the first player since Jessica Reiter in the 2003-04 season to reach the 1,000-career point mark. In 2003-04, the Cardinals had three players join the club as Kate Endress and Johna Goff also secured their 1,000th point.

Junior forward Julie DeMuth is on the cusp of joining Corbin in the 1,000-point club as she enters with 994 career points. She would become the first junior to join the club since Endress.

Protect This House . . .

The Cardinals enter tonight's game with a 10-1 mark at home at Worthen Arena this season. The Cardinals have won 15 out of their last 16 games at home dating back to last season.

The Cardinals are averaging 72.9 points per game this season at home and are holding opponents to just 64.1 points per game. Ball State has enjoyed shooting in Worthen Arena as it is connecting on 50.5 percent from the field and 44.6 percent from long range.

Leading the charge offensively is junior Julie DeMuth who averages 15.5 points and seven rebounds per game. Classmate Lisa Rusche is second in scoring at home at 12.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

Senior Tina Bolte has connected on 50.9 percent (28-of-55) from three-point land while freshman Audrey McDonald is just below at 50 percent (23-of-46).

MAC West Champions . . .

The Cardinals secured their third ever Mid-American Conference West Division championship when they downed preseason favorite Eastern Michigan, 74-73 in front of a record crowd of 4,711. The West Division title is BSU's first since the 2002-03 season.

The crowd of 4,711 is the largest crowd to watch a women's basketball game at Ball State in program history, surpassing the old mark of 4,030 set in 2002 against Toledo. The crowd is also the largest crowd to watch a MAC game this season and the third all-time largest crowd to watch a MAC regular season women's game and the largest since 1996. (5,660 ? Western Michigan at Toledo ? 2/2/96).

The Cardinals secured the victory in the closing seconds of the game as junior forward Julie DeMuth nailed a pair of free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining to give BSU the final lead. The Cardinals held off a desperation shot from EMU to finish their home schedule with a 10-1 record.

The Cardinals used a strong team effort in the victory as five Cardinals scored in double figures. DeMuth paced the attack as she scored a game-high 18 points. She was four-of-eight from the field and nine-of-10 from the free throw line. Lisa Rusche turned in another stellar effort with 14 points as she was seven-of-nine from the field.

Senior guard Tina Bolte continued her strong play as of late as she scored 12 points in her first start of the season. Bolte connected on four-of-eight from three-point land, including three in the first half to pace the long-range attack. Sophomore guard Porchia Green was all over the court as she scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out five assists and recorded three blocks.

Senior Kelsey Corbin was key to the Cardinals' success as she finished with 12 points and dished out eight assists.

Taking Advantage . . .

The Cardinals were on fire from the free throw line in their MAC Tournament semifinal victory over Northern Illinois. BSU connected on 17-of-17 from the free throw line in the win. The 17 makes without a miss is a Ball State and MAC Tournament record for a single game. It is the fifth time in program history that BSU has been perfect from the line in a game, but it never had more than 13 attempts in a perfect game.

The Cardinals connected on 86.6 percent in the tournament which is the fourth highest percentage by a team in tournament history.

Claiming The Trifecta . . .

In the basketball world, beating the same team three times in a season is a hard task to accomplish. The Cardinals were up to the task on Friday afternoon as they notched the trifecta against Northern Illinois. Ball State picked up both regular season victories over the Huskies and tallied its third win in the MAC Tournament semifinals.

This is the first time BSU has defeated the same team three times in a season since the 1988-89 season. That year, the Cardinals defeated Western Michigan three times.

24 and Counting . . .

The Cardinals reached the 24-victory mark for just the second time ever in the 33-year history of the program in the MAC Tournament semifinals. The 24 victories so far this season has already surpassed last season's win total of 17 (17-12) and is tied for the most in a single season.

The Cardinals' posted 24 wins in the 2001-02 season after picking up a win in the WNIT.

The 22 regular season wins are the most ever for the Cardinals during the season. The 2001-02 team finished its regular season with just 21 wins as it claimed three wins in postseason play.

24 wins

(2006-07 & 2001-02)

21 wins

(2002-03)

19 wins

(2000-01)

17 wins

(2005-06, 1989-90,

1974-75)

16 wins

(1999-2000, 2004-05)

All-MAC Honors . . .

Junior forward Julie DeMuth earned First Team All-MAC honors and senior guard Kelsey Corbin was named Honorable Mention All-MAC. Freshman guard Audrey McDonald was tabbed for the MAC All-Freshman team to round out the Ball State honors.

DeMuth picked up First Team All-MAC honors for the first time in her career after earning Third Team All-MAC honors last season as a sophomore. She led the Cardinals in scoring at 15.4 points per game and in rebounding at 8.7 boards per contest. She has scored in double figures in 24 of 27 games this season as well as posting 10 double-doubles.

DeMuth has scored a career-high 28 points on two different occasions this season and has earned MAC West Division Player of the Week honors twice this season. She was named Most Valuable Player of the BSU Credit Union Thanksgiving Tournament and the SPC Holiday Classic. She is the first Cardinal to post back-to-back All-MAC honors since Johna Goff and is the first First Team selection since Kate Endress accomplished the feat in the 2004-05 season.

Corbin, a three-time team captain, picked up Honorable Mention All-MAC honors. This is the first All-MAC honor for her career as she was second on the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game. She leads the team in assists with 125 and is third in the MAC in field goal percentage at 53.8 percent, tops among all guards in the conference.

Corbin became just the fourth player in program history to reach 400 career assists this season. She has scored in double figures on 19 different occasions this season, including a career-high 27 points at 17th ranked Bowling Green. She was named MAC West Division Player of the Week twice this season and earned Second Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors.

McDonald becomes the first Cardinal to earn All-Freshman accolades since DeMuth accomplished the feat in 2004-05. She is averaging 8.9 points per game this season and is second in the MAC in three-point shooting at 40.6 percent. She is 20th in the nation in three-point shooting as she has connected on a BSU freshman record 54 three-pointers.

McDonald has scored in double figures in 11 games this season, including a career-high 23 points against Northern Illinois. She has tallied three or more three-pointers in a game on 10 different occasions with five three-pointers in four games.

Heading to the Line . . .

Junior forward Julie DeMuth set a new single season BSU record for free throws made earlier this season as she has now connected on 164-of-211 (.777). Her 164 free throws made has easily surpassed the previous record of 125 set by Markita Griffin in 1998-99. She is also just past Griffin's attempt record of 184 with her eight-of-nine performance at Northern Illinois in the season finale. She also holds the single game free throw record as she nailed 15 from the charity stripe against Butler this season.

For her career, she has connected on 325 career free throws. She currently sits in second place all-time in career free throws made and is within 54 free throws of the career record of 379 by former great Tamara Bowie.

Handing It Out . . .

The Cardinals are second in the Mid-American Conference this season with 15.7 assists per game. The Cardinals have six players who have handed out 25 or more assists this season and are the only team so far in the MAC to have two players with over 100 assists on the year. Senior guard Kelsey Corbin leads the team with 136 assists while sophomore Porchia Green has 111 helpers. This marks the first time since the 2001-02 season that two Cardinals have reached 100 assists in the same season (Shala Crook 187 & Johna Goff 110).

One Of A Kind . . .

Senior guard Kelsey Corbin has been the model of consistency during her four-year career with the Cardinals. Corbin has played in 116 games in her career with 98 starts. She became just the 11th player all-time to play over 3,000 minutes in her career last week as she has now logged 3,210 career minutes.

She has scored 1,004 points in her career, dished out 422 assists, grabbed 398 rebounds and notched 121 steals. She is on pace to become the first Cardinal ever to reach 400 assists and 400 rebounds in her career as she needs just two rebounds to accomplish the feat. She became just the fourth Cardinal to reach 1,000 points and 400 assists.

Familiar Faces . . .

The Cardinals' senior class of Kelsey Corbin, Tina Bolte and Becca Bajorek have been staples of the BSU program over the past four seasons. The three seniors have combined to play in 326 games in their careers, including 178 starts.

Corbin and Bolte have both played in 116 games in their career apiece. The 116 games played is tied for seventh most in a Cardinal career and is just nine games shy of the career record of 120 games by Kate Endress and Jessica Reiter.

Corbin's 98 starts are fifth most in a career.

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 329 points this season. Her previous high for a season was just 83 points as a freshman. Junior Lisa Rusche has tallied 324 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 358 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 459 points, surpassing her total of 320 points from last season.

Combined, the four players have doubled their points so far this season than their best single season total in prior years (1,470-730).

13 MAC Wins . . .

The Cardinals' 13 victories in MAC play ties the program record for single season conference wins. The Cardinals also won 13 MAC games in 2001-02 on their way to the MAC West Division title.

This is the sixth season in which BSU has reached double figures in MAC wins in program history. The Cardinals also turned 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 the WNIT as only one of three teams in the nation to be in the top 20 in field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free throw percentage. In fact, the Cardinals are only one of six teams to be in the top 20 in field goal and three-point percentage.

The Cardinals are 18th in the nation in field goal percentage at 45.2 percent, seventh in three-point percentage at 38.4 and 20th in free throw percentage at 75.6. The Cardinals are joined in the elite company by Vanderbilt and Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Spreading It Around . . .

The Cardinals are one of only two teams in the Mid-American Conference this season that has at least four players averaging double figures on the season. Julie DeMuth leads the charge at 15.3 followed by Kelsey Corbin (11.9), Porchia Green (11.0) and Lisa Rusche (10.8). Freshman Audrey McDonald is just under 10 points per game at 8.8. The Cardinals have had five players average double figures for most of the season.

In fact, only 19th ranked Bowling Green has more players averaging double figures with five heading into the tournament. Five other MAC teams have three players averaging double figures in Eastern Michigan, Miami, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Western Michigan.

Scouting the Cardinals . . .

The Cardinals come into the WNIT with a 24-6 overall record as they won the Mid-American Conference West Division title. BSU has won five of its last six games.

The Cardinals are averaging 72.9 points per game while holding opponents to 64.1 points per contest. Ball State is connecting on 45.2 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from three-point land. Four Cardinals average double figures and nine players average 3.7 points or more on the season.

Junior forward Julie DeMuth leads the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game and in rebounding at 8.9 boards per game. Senior guard Kelsey Corbin is second on the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game and has connected on 53.5 percent from the field. Corbin also leads the team with 136 assists on the year.

Sophomore guard Porchia Green is third on the team in scoring at 11 points per game and third in rebounding at 6.2 boards per game. She is second in assists at 111 and leads the team in three-point shooting at 43.7 percent from long range.

Junior forward Lisa Rusche rounds out the double figure scorers as she averages 10.8 points per game and is second in rebounding at 6.8 caroms per game.

Scouting the Wildcats . . .

Kentucky comes into tonight's game with a 19-13 overall record and finished with a 6-8 mark in the SEC. The Wildcats went 1-1 in the SEC Tournament and are coming off of a nine-point first round victory in the WNIT.

The Wildcats are averaging 70.2 points per game this season while allowing 61.5 points per game. UK is shooting 42.5 percent from the field and just 29.4 percent from three-point land.

Sarah Elliott leads the team in scoring as she averages 13.5 points per game and is second in rebounding at 7.1 boards per game. Samantha Mahoney is second on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game while Jennifer Humphrey leads the rebounding effort with a team-high 10.4 boards per game.

Cardinals In NCAA Stats . . .

The Cardinals as a team are in the top 50 in eight statistical categories in the NCAA Division I so far this season. Leading the way for BSU is its three-point shooting which is seventh in the nation at 38.4 percent. The Cardinals are also 18th in field goal percentage (45.2), 20th (75.6), 21st in scoring offense (72.9), 24th in won/loss percentage (80.0), 30th in assists per game (15.7), 42nd in three-pointers per game (5.9) and 47th in scoring margin (+8.8)

Individually speaking, freshman guard Audrey McDonald is 17th in the nation in three-point percentage at 41.1 percent. Columbia's Brittney Carfora leads the nation at 51.9 percent. McDonald is also 94th in the nation in three-pointers per game at 2.0.

Sophomore guard Porchia Green would be sixth (43.7) in the nation and senior guard Tina Bolte would be 18th (41.1) in three-point percentage if they had enough attempts to qualify.

Senior guard Kelsey Corbin is 65th in the nation in assists per game at 4.5. Junior Julie DeMuth is 58th in the country in rebounding at 8.9 boards per game.

RPI Watching . . .

The Cardinals, who were on the bubble for an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament, enter the WNIT with an RPI of 41 according to the final numbers compiled by the NCAA.

Ball State is also listed 30th by RealtimeRPI.com, 37th by CollegeRPI.com and 41st by RPIRatings.com.

Owning the Glass . . .

Junior guard Julie DeMuth leads the Cardinals and is third in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding this season at 8.9 rebounds per game. She is on pace to become just the third Cardinal all-time to lead the team in rebounding in three straight years, joining the likes of Emma Jones and Shelley Silk.

Last season, she led the Cardinals and the MAC in rebounding 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 ninth most in a single season at BSU. Her 266 rebounds this season just surpassed her total from last season to move into fourth place all-time in a single season. Reiter holds the single season mark of 299 set in 2003-04.

Earlier this season, she became just the fifth player all-time to reach 700-career rebounds. She enters the WNIT in fifth place all-time in career rebounds as she now has 724 boards. She just surpassed Stephanie McQuinn for fifth place.

3rd - Tamara Bowie (933)

4th - Karen Bauer (760)

5th - Julie DeMuth (724)

6th - Stephanie McQuinn (678)

7th - Kate Endress (663)

8th - Jamie Lehotsky (642)

9th - Char Thomsen (630)

10th - Shelley Silk (618)

It's Trey Day . . .

Senior Tina Bolte has posted three of the Top 10 seasons for three-pointers made in program history. Last season, she 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 49 three-pointers. She moved into sole possession of third place all-time in the first meeting with Northern Illinois. She enters the tournament with 181 career three-pointers.

1st - Johna Goff (253)

2nd - Kate Endress (205)

3rd- Tina Bolte (181)

4th - Markita Griffin (152)

5th - Alana Hancock (139)

Lending a Helping Hand . . .

Senior guard Kelsey Corbin leads the team in assists with season with 136. She became fourth player to reach 400 career assists with her eight helpers against Eastern Michigan. She sits alone in fourth place all-time with 422 career helpers.

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 (422)

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 surpassed that with 11 double dips so far this season.

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, Toledo, Western Michigan, Northern Illinois and versus Western Michigan in the first round of the tournament.

She is tied for the MAC lead with 11 double-doubles this season with Rachel Frederick of Ohio.

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 - 24

Kate Endress - 14

Big Boards . . .

Junior Julie DeMuth set a new career-high earlier this month 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 .

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). She also was named to the Academic All-MAC team.

Corbin, a three-time team captain, owns a 3.66 GPA in psychology and has guided the Cardinals to a 24-6 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 60 three-pointers this season. Her 60 three-pointers are sixth most in a single season in BSU history. She just past the likes of Tina Bolte and Kate Endress for seventh place.

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

4th - Kate Endress (70, 04-05)

5th - Tina Bolte (67, 05-06)

6th - Audrey McDonald (60 06-07)

7th - Markita Griggin (59, 98-99)

t-8th - Tina Bolte (52, 04-05)

t-8th - Kate Endress (52, 02-03)

Block Party . . .

Junior forward Lisa Rusche is second in the MAC with 49 blocks this season. Her 49 rejections are already second most in a single season in BSU history. She just surpassed Tamara Bowie (39, 1999-2000) and Shelley Silk (38, 1981-81) to move into second place.

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

1st - Tamara Bowie (57, 02-03)

2nd- Lisa Rusche (49, 06-07)

3rd - Bowie (39, 99-00)

4th - Shelley Silk (38, 81-82)

5th - Char Thomsen (36, 97-98)

t-6th - Bowie (31, 01-20)

t-6th - Julie Lozier (31, 88-89)

Cleaning the Glass . . .

The Cardinals enter the WNIT with a 14-2 record on the season when they out-rebound their opponent. Ball State though, is ninth in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding offense at 35.3 boards per game. The Cardinals have controlled the boards on the other end as they are second in the MAC in rebounding defense as they allow just 33.6 boards per game. BSU is third in the conference in rebounding margin at +1.7 boards per game.

Did You Know? . . .

The Cardinals are 17-2 this season when they score at least 70 points in a game. Ball State is also 19-2 when it holds opponents under the 70-point mark.

Cardinal Honors . . .

So far this season, the Cardinals have claimed five Player of the Week accolades. Senior guard Kelsey Corbin and junior forward Julie DeMuth both have been named two different times this season. Junior forward Lisa Rusche picked up her first career weekly honor in the second to last week of the season.

This marks the first time since the 2002-03 season that Ball State has taken home five or more Player of the Week accolades in a season.

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 115-65 record into the WNIT.

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 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)

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 the tournament, the Cardinals have four players in the top 32 in scoring in the MAC with Julie DeMuth (ninth), Kelsey Corbin (22nd), Porchia Green (29th) and Lisa Rusche (32nd). The Cardinals also have three players in the top 16 in rebounding with DeMuth (3rd), Rusche (11th) and Green (16th).

Senior Tina Bolte leads the MAC in three-point shooting as she has connected on 41.9 percent. Freshman Audrey McDonald is second in the MAC at 41.1. Green would be first (43.7) in the MAC if she had enough attempts to qualify.

Corbin is third in the conference in field goal percentage at 53.5, the best mark by a guard in the MAC this season. Rusche is ninth in the conference in field goal percentage at 48.9.

Green is second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio at 1.71, while Corbin is fourth at 1.64. Corbin is also fourth in the conference in assists at 4.5 per game Rusche is second in blocks at 49.

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.

Looking Ahead . . .

The winner of tonight's game will advance in the WNIT to play Wisconsin in the third round of the tournament.