MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State women's basketball team concludes its first turn through the Mid-American Conference West Division Wednesday night when the Cardinals host Central Michigan at 7 p.m. at Worthen Arena. The game will be broadcast on Comcast Local (Muncie Ch. 5).
“We are looking forward to responding after our loss at Toledo,” acting head coach Lisa McDonald. “We want to come out with a lot of energy and focus tomorrow night. Central Michigan plays hard for 40 minutes and we know that we will have to match their intensity throughout the game.”
The Cardinals enter the game in a three-way tie atop of the MAC-West Division with a 3-1 conference record. Ball State is coming off of its first MAC loss of the season last Saturday night as it dropped a 72-66 decision at Toledo. Senior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) led five Cardinals in double figures as she scored 16 points while also grabbing nine rebounds.
Classmate Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) turned in another solid effort as she scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) and freshman forward Emily Maggert (Paris, Ill./Paris) each chipped in 12 points in the loss.
On the season, Green leads the Cardinals in scoring and rebounding at 13.3 points and 6.4 boards per game, respectively. She has elevated her play in conference games this season as she is averaging 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds against MAC opponents. DeMuth is second on the team overall in scoring at 11.9 points, while Rusche adds 11.0 points per game on the year.
Maggert has come to form in MAC games this season as she averages 15.3 points per game against conference foes, including a career-high 24 points against Western Michigan in her first career MAC game. Junior guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) has averaged 11.8 points per game through the first four conference games while leading the team at 39 minutes per game.
Wednesday's game is the 55th meeting all-time between Ball State and Central Michigan. The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 29-25 margin but have won 13 out of the last 14 meetings, including a season series sweep last season. Ball State is 17-11 all-time against Central Michigan at home in Muncie and has won eight straight meetings against the Chippewas here at Worthen Arena.
Last season, the Cardinals claimed both games against Central Michigan with a 73-65 overtime victory at Mount Pleasant, Mich., and an 84-59 victory in Muncie.
Rusche led the Cardinals in the two games against Central Michigan as she averaged 21 points and nine rebounds per game. She connected on 17-of-25 (68%) from the field in the two contests while also recording eight blocks. DeMuth averaged 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game against CMU while Green averaged 8.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game against the Chippewas.
Central Michigan enters the game with a 4-13 record overall and an 0-4 mark in MAC play. The Chippewas have lost six straight games under first year head coach Sue Guevara. The Chippewas have dropped MAC games at Toledo, to Western Michigan, at Northern Illinois and most recently dropped a two-point game at home to Eastern Michigan.
Central Michigan
is averaging 61.4 points per game this season while allowing a MAC-high 72.9 points against. Forward Britni Houghton leads the team in scoring and is the only player averaging double figures for CMU at 10.8 points per game.
Angel Chan is second on the team in scoring at 9.3 points per game while Latisha Luckett chips in 8.9 points per contest. Luckett leads the team on the glass at 6.1 boards per game.
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