Ball State University Athletics

Women's Hoops Battles Western Michigan In MAC Tournament
March 05, 2007 | Women's Basketball
What's On Tap . .
The Cardinals enter the 2007 Kraft MAC Basketball Tournament as the number one seed from the West Division.
The Cardinals has a first round bye in the tournament and will not open play until Tuesday in the quarterfinal round of play.
MAC Tournament TV . . .
All games of the 2007 Kraft MAC Basketball Tournament will be streamed online through the MAC's broadband video channel.
Also, the semifinal games and the MAC Final will be broadcast on Fox Sports Ohio and Comcast Local. Those games will be played on Friday, March 9 and Saturday, March 10.
MAC West Champions . . .
The Cardinals secured their third ever Mid-American Conference West Division championship when they downed preseason favorite
The crowd of 4,711 is the largest crowd to watch a women's basketball game at
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.
Last Time Out . . .
The Cardinals closed out the 2006-07 regular season with a come-from-behind victory at
The Cardinals out-scored the Huskies 49-29 in the second half as they connected on 12-of-25 (48%) and held NIU to just 10 second half field goals. The Huskies also struggled from three-point land in the second half as they missed all seven shots from long range in the second frame. The Cardinals' aggressive play led to a dominating performance from the free throw line.
Junior forward Julie DeMuth led the Cardinal attack as she posted her 10th double-double of the season and 23rd of her career against the Huskies. DeMuth finished with 20 points and a game-high 13 rebounds as she connected on six-of-13 from the field and eight-of-nine from the charity stripe.
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin also turned in a stellar effort in her regular season finale as she poured in a game-high 22 points. Corbin finished the night six-of-11 from the field and 10-of-12 from the charity stripe in the victory.
Sophomore guard Porchia Green finished the night with 17 points as she was five-of-eight from the field and a perfect six-of-six from the charity stripe.
MAC Tournament History . . .
This season's appearance is 17th appearance for the Cardinals in the MAC Tournament.
The Cardinals are 10-16 all-time in MAC Tournament play as they have advanced to the tournament final on two different occasions.
Grand Company . . .
The Cardinals have two players inching closer to the exclusive 1,000-point club heading into the tournament. Senior guard Kelsey Corbin and junior forward Julie DeMuth are vying to join the elite company.
Corbin enters the tournament with 972 points scored to sit in 17th place all-time in career scoring. She needs just 28 points to become the 17th player to reach the 1,000-point mark. DeMuth is right behind as she enters with 950 points in just three seasons and needs 50 points to reach the milestone.
Series History . . .
Ball
In the two games, DeMuth averaged 15.5 points per game and 10 rebounds per contest. Junior forward Lisa Rusche also averaged a double-double against the Broncos as she chipped in 13 points and 10 caroms per contest.
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin added 13 points per game against WMU.
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 148-of-193 (.767). Her 148 free throws made has easily surpassed the previous record of 125 set by Markita Griffin in 1998-99. She is also just past
For her career, she has connected on 309 career free throws. She currently sits in seventh place all-time in career free throws made and is within 70 free throws of the career record of 379 by former great Tamara Bowie.
Handing It Out . . .
The Cardinals lead the Mid-American Conference this season with 16.1 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 125 assists while sophomore Porchia Green has 106 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 113 games in her career with 95 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 3,106 career minutes.
She has scored 972 points in her career, dished out 411 assists, grabbed 392 rebounds and notched 116 steals. She is on pace to become the first Cardinal ever to reach 400 assists and 400 rebounds in her career. She also has a shot to become 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 317 games in their careers, including 175 starts.
Corbin and Bolte have both played in 113 games in their career apiece. The 113 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 95 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 295 points this season. Her previous high for a season was just 83 points as a freshman. Junior Lisa Rusche has tallied 289 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 336 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 415 points, surpassing her total of 320 points from last season.
Combined, the four players have scored 595 more points so far this season than their best single season total in prior years (1,325-730).
22 and Counting . . .
The Cardinals reached the 22-victory mark for just the second time ever in the 33-year history of the program on Wednesday night. The 21 victories so far this season has already surpassed last season's win total of 17 (17-12) and is second most in a single season. BSU's win total just surpassed the total of the 2002-03 team.
Only the Cardinals' program record 2001-02 season stands in front of this year's team. The 2001-02 team finished the year with 24 wins.
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
(2001-02)
22 wins
(2006-07)
21 wins
(2002-03)
19 wins
(2000-01)
17 wins
(2005-06, 1989-90,
1974-75)
16 wins
(1999-2000, 2004-05)
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.
DeMuth Honored . . .
Junior forward Julie DeMuth was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week for her efforts at
DeMuth, who has won a weekly honor already this season, guided the Cardinals to a come-from-behind 81-70 victory at
DeMuth connected on six-of-13 from the field and was eight-of-nine from the charity stripe. She scored 14 second half points as the Cardinals rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit, including a stretch in which she scored 12 points in a four minute span.
In Good Company . . .
The Cardinals enter the MAC Tournament as one of five teams in the nation to be in the top 14 in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage.
The Cardinals are 14th in the nation in field goal percentage at 46 percent while they are fifth in the nation from long range at 38.4 percent. BSU is joined in this elite company by
Keep On Rolling . . .
The Cardinals' 22-5 record is their best mark after 27 games in program history. The Cardinals' previous best start was in the 2001-02 season when they opened 21-6. BSU finished the 2001-02 team posted a 24-8 overall mark.
BSU is also 13-3 in Mid-American Conference action this season. The 13-3 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 at least four players averaging double figures on the season. Julie DeMuth leads the charge at 15.2 followed by Kelsey Corbin (12.1), Porchia Green (10.9) and Lisa Rusche (10.7). Freshman Audrey McDonald is just under 10 points per game at 8.9. The Cardinals have had five players average double figures for most of the season.
In fact, only 17th ranked
Scouting the Cardinals . . .
The Cardinals closed out the regular season with a 22-5 overall record and a 13-3 MAC mark to win the MAC West Division. The Cardinals won five of their last six games, including three straight heading into the tournament.
Ball
Nine players average at least four points per game for the Cardinals this season, including four players averaging double figures. Junior forward Julie DeMuth leads the way as she as scored 15.4 points per game. She also leads the way on the glass as she averages a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game.
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin is second on the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game. She is shooting 53.8 percent from the field this season and has dished out a team-high 125 assists. Sophomore guard Porchia Green is third on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game. She is second in assists at 106 and third in rebounding at 6.4 boards per game. She has recorded a team-high 62 steals this season.
Junior forward Lisa Rusche rounds out the double figure scorers as she chips in 10.7 points per game. She is second in rebounding at 6.9 boards per game. Freshman guard Audrey McDonald adds 8.9 points per game and is second in the MAC in three-point shooting at 40.6 percent.
Senior reserve guard Tina Bolte leads the MAC from long range as she has connected on 42.2 percent of her three-pointers.
Scouting the Broncos . . .
Western Michigan
Senior guard Carrie Moore leads the MAC and NCAA Division I in scoring as she averages 25.3 points per game. Forward Lindsey Brown is second on the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 8.7 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 fifth in the nation at 37.9 percent. The Cardinals are also 14th in field goal percentage (45.9), 20th in assists per game (16.2), 22nd in scoring offense (73.9), 20th in won/loss percentage (81.5), 33rd in three-pointers made per game (5.9), 43rd in scoring margin (+9.8) and 40th in free throw percentage (74.8)
Individually speaking, freshman guard Audrey McDonald is 20th in the nation in three-point percentage at 40.6 percent. Vanderbilt's Caroline Williams leads the nation at 49.7 percent. McDonald is also 82nd in the nation in three-pointers per game at 2.1. Senior guard Tina Bolte would be seventh in the nation in three-point percentage at 42.2 if she had enough attempts.
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin is 60th in the nation in assists per game at 4.7 while sophomore Porchia Green is 93rd in the nation in steals per game at 2.3. Junior Julie DeMuth is 74th in the country in rebounding at 8.5 boards per game.
RPI Watching . . .
The Cardinals and their 22-5 record have been making some noise in the RPI rankings this season.
The Cardinals are listed at 57th in the latest NCAA RPI listings on February 25th.
Owning the Glass . . .
Junior guard Julie DeMuth leads the Cardinals and is second in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding this season at 8.7 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 eighth most in a single season at BSU. Her 235 rebounds this season heading into the tournament are 11th most in a single season.
She became just the 14th player in
She moved into sole possession of fifth place all-time in career rebounds in the last week of the season as she now has 693 boards. She just surpassed Stephanie McQuinn for fifth place. She needs just seven rebounds to become the fifth player ever to reach 700 career rebounds.
3rd - Tamara Bowie (933)
4th - Karen Bauer (760)
5th - Julie DeMuth (693)
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 46 three-pointers. She moved into sole possession of third place all-time in the first meeting with
1st - Johna Goff (253)
2nd - Kate Endress (205)
3rd- Tina Bolte (178)
4th - Markita Griffin (152)
5th - Alana Hancock (139)
Lending a Helping Hand . . .
Senior guard Kelsey Corbin leads the team in assists with season with 125. She became fourth player to reach 400 career assists with her eight helpers against
She past Stephanie McQuinne for the fourth place all-time in career assists against
1st - Shala Crook (628)
2nd - Jenny Eckert (471)
3rd - Johna Goff (447)
4th - Kelsey Corbin (411)
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 10 double dips so far this season.
DeMuth posted her first double-double of the 2006-07 season against
She is second in the MAC this season with 10 double-doubles, trailing only Rachel Frederick (
She moved into sole possession of third place all-time in career double-doubles at
Below is a list of the all-time double-doubles in BSU history:
Emma Jones - 49
Tamara Bowie - 31
Julie DeMuth - 23
Kate Endress - 14
Big Boards . . .
Junior Julie DeMuth set a new career-high earlier this month as she grabbed 19 rebounds at
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
The Cardinals also held
Raining Threes . . .
Freshman guard Audrey McDonald has already connected on 54 three-pointers this season. Her 54 three-pointers are seventh 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 - Markita Griggin (59, 98-99)
7th - Audrey McDonald (54, 06-07)
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 41 blocks this season. Her 41 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
1st - Tamara Bowie (57, 02-03)
2nd- Lisa Rusche (41, 06-07)
3rd -
4th - Shelley Silk (38, 81-82)
5th - Char Thomsen (36, 97-98)
t-6th -
t-6th - Julie Lozier (31, 88-89)
Cleaning the Glass . . .
The Cardinals enter the tournament with a 14-3 record on the season when they out-rebound their opponent.
Did You Know? . . .
The Cardinals are 16-2 this season when they score at least 70 points in a game.
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
Milestone Victory . . .
Earlier this season, the Cardinals claimed an 82-72 victory over
Roller, who already the all-time winningest women's coach in program history, brings a 113-64 record into the MAC Tournament.
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
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
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
MAC Stats . . .
Heading into the tournament, the Cardinals have four players in the top 30 in scoring in the MAC with Julie DeMuth (ninth), Kelsey Corbin (18th), Porchia Green (27th) and Lisa Rusche (30th). The Cardinals also have three players in the top 16 in rebounding with DeMuth (2nd), Rusche (11th) and Green (16th).
Senior Tina Bolte leads the MAC in three-point shooting as she has connected on 42.2 percent. Freshman Audrey McDonald is second in the MAC at 40.6. Green would be second in the MAC if she had enough attempts to qualify.
Corbin is third in the conference in field goal percentage at 53.8, the best mark by a guard in the MAC this season. Rusche is 10th in the conference in field goal percentage at 48.8 while DeMuth is 14th at 44.9 percent.
Green is second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio at 1.83, while Corbin is fifth at 1.60. Corbin is also fourth in the conference in assists at 4.63 per game Rusche is second in blocks at 41.
Career Nights . . .
So far this season,
Freshman Audrey McDonald recorded a career-high 23 points against
Junior forward Lisa Rusche leads the way with her 36-point effort against
Freshman Kalynne Proctor recorded a new career-high as she scored 11 points against
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
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.











