CLEVELAND, Ohio ? The Ball State women's basketball team held on for a 56-53 victory over rival Western Michigan in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Kraft Mid-American Conference Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at the Quicken Loans Arena. The victory improves the Cardinals to 23-5 overall on the season and advances BSU to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament for the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2003.
“Today we battled all game long and gutted out a victory with solid play on both ends of the court,” head coach Tracy Roller said. “We showed a lot of poise in the second half to withstand the Western Michigan run and came through with some big defensive stops down the stretch to advance in the tournament.”
The Cardinals' junior post tandem of Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville H.S.) and Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills H.S.) combined to score 40 of the Cardinals' 56 points in the victory. The tandem also grabbed 23 of BSU's 37 rebounds in the victory.
DeMuth led the attack as she posted her 11th double-double of the season with a game-high 25 points and a game-high 16 rebounds as she was named the game's MVP. She connected on eight-of-21 from the field and seven-of-eight from the free throw line, including the game clinching free throws with 16 seconds remaining.
Rusche added 15 points as she was six-of-12 from the field and a perfect three-of-three from the charity stripe. She paced the Cardinals in the second half with 13 points in the final frame with nine points coming in a five-minute span midway through the half.
Both teams came out at the beginning of the game slowly as only nine total points were scored in the first six minutes. The Cardinals made their first run of the game with an 11-1 spurt to take a 19-11 lead with eight minutes remaining in the half. DeMuth sparked the run with five points, including an old-fashioned three-point play. Senior guard Kelsey Corbin (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop H.S.) and sophomore guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North H.S.) capped the run with back-to-back fast-break baskets to force the WMU timeout.
Western Michigan (14-18) answered with 10 unanswered points to tie the game up at 21-21. Ball State responded with an 8-2 run to take a 29-23 lead with 36 seconds remaining. WMU senior guard Carrie Moore connected on a three-point play in the closing seconds as BSU went into the locker room with a 29-26 lead.
The Cardinals connected on just 36.7 percent (11-of-30) from the field in the first half and just two-of-seven (28.6%) from three-point land. DeMuth led the way offensively as she scored 19 first half points, including two three-pointers. The Broncos were held to just 31.8 percent (seven-of-22) shooting in the opening frame and committed 13 turnovers.
The two teams battled back-and-forth in the second half with Western Michigan taking its first lead of the game at 35-33 at the 16:13 mark. The Cardinals countered with back-to-back baskets from Rusche and DeMuth. The Broncos re-took the lead at 42-41 as Tiera DeLaHoussaye connected on WMU's only three-pointer of the game.
Ball State look like it broke open the game in the next four minutes as the Cardinals posted a 13-3 run to take a 54-45 lead with 6:59 remaining. Rusche sparked the run with five points while sophomore guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington H.S.) and senior guard Tina Bolte (Columbus, Ind./North H.S.) nailed three-pointers to give BSU the nine-point lead.
The Cardinals withstood a strong upset bid down the stretch from the Broncos as WMU scored eight straight points in the final six minutes to pull within one at 54-53. Ball State responded to the adversity on the next possession and had two looks at the basket before DeMuth pulled down a big offensive rebound and was fouled on the put back.
DeMuth calmly nailed both free throw attempts to give BSU a three-point land with 16 seconds remaining. The potential game-tying three-pointer by Moore was off the mark to secure the Cardinals' victory.
Ball State finished the game 21-of-61 (34%) from the field in the victory, including four-of-12 from three-point land. The Cardinals also hit 10-of-12 from the charity stripe in the game as only DeMuth and Rusche connected on free throws. Western Michigan finished the game 18-of-51 (35%) from the field and hit just one-of-12 (8%) from three-point land in the loss.
Corbin finished with six points as the Cardinals only had two players scoring in double figures. The Cardinals forced Western Michigan into 21 turnovers in the victory as BSU recorded 11 steals. Jarrett had a solid game off of the bench as she dished out a team-high four assists, all in the first half.
Moore, the nation's leading scorer, was held to 19 points as she was just six-of-18 from the field. DeLaHoussaye added 11 points and dished out just one assist in the loss for the Broncos.
The 23 victories are the second most in a single season in Ball State history and is just one win shy of the BSU record of 24 set in the 2001-02 season. The semifinal appearance for the Cardinals' is the third appearance for Roller in her six seasons at the helm of the Cardinals.
The Cardinals will have off for two days as they return to action on Friday afternoon in the first semifinal as they face #3W Northern Illinois. The game is set for a noon start at the Quicken Loans Arena. The game will be broadcast on Comcast Local (Muncie Ch. 5).
####
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
