DEKALB, Ill. ? The Ball State women's basketball team received contributions up and down the lineup as the Cardinals out-scored Northern Illinois 84-78 in Mid-American Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center. Six different Cardinals scored in double figures in the victory as Ball State improves to 6-9 overall and 2-0 in MAC play.
“I am really proud of the way we responded to Northern Illinois' runs in the first and second half,” acting head coach Lisa McDonald said. “We played with a lot of poise, confidence and heart in the second half as we mounted our comeback.”
Junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) led the Cardinals' double figure scorers as she poured in a team-high 20 points. She connected on nine-of-12 from the field, including a perfect two-of-two from long range. Freshman forward Emily Maggert (Paris, Ill./Paris) continued her strong start to her MAC career as she added 16 points and six rebounds.
Sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) chipped in 14 points. She connected on four-of-seven from three-point land as all four of her long range shots coming in the second half.
Senior forwards Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) and Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) each added 12 points apiece for the Cardinals' attack. DeMuth finished the game six-of-eight shooting from the field, while playing 20 minutes of action. Junior guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points, as she was two-of-three from three-point land.
“Porchia played with a lot of confidence, Julie gave us some big shots down the stretch and Audrey hit some key three-pointers,” McDonald said. “So many players stepped up today in key situation and having six players in double figures is the type of balance we are looking for offensively.”
Ball State used a strong second half effort to claim the victory as it shot 60.7 percent (17-of-28) from the field in the second frame, including 85.7 percent (six-of-seven) from three-point land. The 84 points are tied for the most this season for the Cardinals and marks the second straight game in which they have reached the 84-point mark.
The Cardinals came out of the gate quickly against Northern Illinois as they jumped to an 11-5 lead just four minutes into the game. Rusche highlighted the good start as she scored four early points, while Green added five points including a three-pointer.
Northern Illinois (4-11, 0-2 MAC) regrouped and scored the next five points to tie the game at 11 apiece. The two teams battled back-and-forth for the next four minutes until NIU took a 27-22 lead with eight minutes remaining to force a BSU timeout. The Cardinals responded in the timeout as Maggert continued her strong play with a pair of baskets in a 7-2 run. Jarrett added a spark with a three-pointer to tie the game at 29-29.
The Huskies took a 36-31 lead with four minutes remaining, but the Cardinals held them without a point the rest of the half. Ball State closed the half on a 7-0 run to go into the locker room with a 38-36 lead. The Cardinals did their damage down the stretch from the free throw line as they scored all seven points in the run from the line.
Ball State connected on 46.7 percent (14-of-30) from the field in the first half while only shooting 25 percent (two-of-eight) from three-point land. The Cardinals hit eight-of-12 (66.7%) from the charity stripe in the first half. BSU was strong in the post as it out-scored NIU 22-10 in the paint in the opening frame. Rusche and Maggert each paced the Cardinals attack with 10 points in the first half.
Northern Illinois connected on 33.3 percent (12-of-26) from the field in the first half, including 30.8 percent (four-of-13) from three-point land. The Huskies hit 80 percent (eight-of-10) from the free throw line in the first half. Whitney Lowe led NIU early with 11 first half points, including two three-pointers.
Green came out of the break and hit an early three-pointer to give the Cardinals the lead at 43-41. Northern Illinois answered with a three-pointer on its way to a 14-0 run as the Huskies took a 55-43 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the half. Ball State committed four turnovers in the NIU run to lead to the double-digit deficit.
The Cardinals responded in a big way as they scored seven straight points on their way to a 28-8 run to take the lead back for good at 71-63. The Cardinals' run was started with back-to-back baskets by Green as she continued to pour on the points in the second half. Ball State started to heat up from the outside as Jarrett nailed one three-pointer and McDonald tallied three three-pointers in the run.
DeMuth gave the Cardinals some big baskets as her second straight bucket gave BSU the lead for good. Ball State connected on 12-of-15 from the field in the eight-minute span while limiting NIU to just two-of-12 shooting from the field during the run. The Cardinals forced the Huskies into five turnovers to the spurt to key the turnaround in the game.
Northern Illinois did not go away though as the Huskies responded with a 7-2 run to pull within three points at 73-70. Maggert nailed four straight free throws to give the Cardinals some breathing room. McDonald nailed her fourth three-pointer to give the Cardinals an 80-74 lead with 1:31 remaining.
The Huskies scored on back-to-back possessions to pull within two points with 50 seconds remaining. The Cardinals worked the clock down and picked up a huge basket from DeMuth with 24 seconds left in the game. Her jumper gave the Cardinals a two-possession lead in the waning seconds. After an NIU miss on a three-pointer, Jarrett nailed both of her free throws to seal the victory for the Cardinals.
Ball State finished the game shooting 53.4 percent (31-of-58) from the field and 53.3 percent (eight-of-15) from long range. The Cardinals also connected on 77.8 percent (14-of-18) from the free throw line, including a perfect six-of-six in the second half. Northern Illinois finished shooting 36.4 percent (28-of-77) from the field and just 36.4 percent (eight-of-22) from long range.
The Cardinals were even on the boards with the Huskies as both teams grabbed 40 rebounds. Rusche and Green each led the team with eight rebounds while Jarrett and Maggert each tallied six rebounds.
Northern Illinois was led in scoring by Whitney Lowe as she scored a game-high 24 points as she was 10-of-20 from the field. Kylie York added 16 points on four three-pointers while Shari' Shelton chipped in 10 points.
The victory for the Cardinals is their ninth straight in the all-time series against Northern Illinois. Ball State has now won 14 out of the last 15 meetings against the Huskies.
The Cardinals will return home to the friendly confines of Worthen Arena Tuesday evening as they host MAC-West Division rival Eastern Michigan in the MAC home opener. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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