MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State women's basketball team begins a stretch of six straight games against teams from the Mid-American Conference East Division Saturday afternoon as the MAC-West leading Cardinals host MAC-East leading Bowling Green at 3 p.m. at Worthen Arena. The game will be the first meeting between the two divisional leaders since last year's MAC Tournament Championship game.
“The Ball State-Bowling Green game has grown over the past few years into a very good rivalry,” acting head coach Lisa McDonald said. “Bowling Green is a great team and is very well coached. We look forward to the opportunity that lies ahead and we know that Saturday will be a great battle. We are glad to be back at home in front of our great fans.”
The Cardinals (8-10, 4-1 MAC) are coming off of an 82-57 victory over Central Michigan to close out theie first swing through the MAC-West Division. Ball State was strong throughout the game offensively as it connected on 54.4 percent (31-of-57) from the field and 50 percent (10-of-20) from three-point land.
The Cardinals got out in transition against the Chippewas as they turned 20 CMU turnovers into 28 points in the victory. Four Cardinals scored in double figures and six players scored at least eight points in the balanced attack.
Sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) led all scorers as she scored 20 points on the strength of a career-high six three-pointers. Senior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) added 16 points and eight rebounds while junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds.
Junior guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) dished out a career-high 12 assists and chipped in eight points. Senior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) tallied 11 first half points before taking most of the second half off. Freshman forward Emily Maggert (Paris, Ill./Paris) added eight points and six rebounds off of the bench.
Green leads the Cardinals on the season in scoring and rebounding at 13.3 and 6.4, respectively. She also leads the team in field goal percentage (.520) and three-point percentage (.487). DeMuth is second in the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game and tied for second in rebounding at 6.3 caroms per game.
Rusche rounds out the Cardinals in double figures as she chips in 11.3 points per game and is tied for second in rebounds at 6.3 per game. McDonald adds 9.1 points per game while Jarrett chips in 8.0 points per contest.
Saturday's game is the 51st meeting all-time between Ball State and Bowling Green, with the Cardinals trailing the all-time series by a 12-38 margin. The Cardinals have dropped the last five meetings to the Falcons, including both meetings last season. The Cardinals last defeated Bowling Green in the 2003-04 season at Anderson Arena.
Last season, the Cardinals dropped an 86-76 decision at then #17/18 Bowling Green in the regular season before falling to the Falcons 67-53 in the Mid-American Conference Tournament Final in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Cardinals struggled to find their shooting touch against the Falcons last year as they only connected on 38.9 percent from the field, while Bowling Green hit 56.7 percent of its shots from the field. Former Cardinal Kelsey Corbin led the Cardinals' attack against BGSU as she averaged 21 points per game. She connected on 59.1 percent from the field in the two games and was 16-of-19 from the charity stripe. Green chipped in 19.5 points per game against the Falcons last year and 6.5 boards per game.
Bowling Green, the three-time defending MAC Tournament Champions, enter today's game with a 15-4 overall record and a 4-1 mark in MAC action. The Falcons are alone atop the MAC-East Division despite suffering their first loss of the conference season last Tuesday at home to Miami.
Bowling Green is averaging a conference-high 72.0 points per game and allowing just 59.3 points per game against. The Falcons are led in scoring by freshman Lauren Prochaska as she averages 14.6 points per game. She is shooting 46.7 percent from three-point land on the year and is the top free throw shooter in the MAC at 89.6 percent.
Senior point guard Kate Achter is second on the team in scoring at 13.6 points and is the only returning starter from last season's team. She also leads the team with 123 assists on the year. Forward Tara Breske is third on the team in scoring at 10.1 points per game and adds 4.5 caroms per contest.
Saturday's game will be broadcast by the Ball State Sports Network with Wil Hampton providing the play-by-play and Heather Cusick adding the color commentary.
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