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MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State women's basketball team begins a stretch of four road games in its next five contests starting Wednesday night when the Cardinals travel to Mid-American Conference rival Miami for a 7 p.m. tip at Millett Hall. The game will be broadcast on ESPN Radio WXFN 1340 AM with Jay Garrison handling the call.
“Miami is playing at a very high level and we are looking forward to this challenge,” acting head coach Lisa McDonald. “The Ball State-Miami rivalry is a great rivalry. We know that we will have to come ready to compete and will have to bring our best Wednesday night.”
The Cardinals and RedHawks are two of six teams in the MAC that are tied atop of the standings with a 6-3 conference mark. Ball State is tied for the top spot in the MAC-West Division with Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan, while Miami is deadlocked with Bowling Green and Ohio in the MAC-East Division.
Ball State (10-12, 6-3 MAC) is coming off of an 80-64 victory last Saturday afternoon over Akron. The Cardinals did most of their damage down low as they scored 40 points in the paint and dominated the glass with a 47-20 advantage on the boards. The plus-27 margin is the largest positive margin this season for any team in the MAC this year.
Senior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) led the Cardinals' attack against Akron as she tied a season-high with 20 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds. Junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) scored 14 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out seven assists in the victory as well. Freshman forward Emily Maggert (Paris, Ill./Paris) added 14 points and eight rebounds off of the bench for the Cardinals.
Green leads the Cardinals in scoring and rebounding on the year at 12.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Senior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) is second on the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game and is second on the boards as well at 6.4 caroms per game.
Wednesday's game is the 54th meeting all-time between Ball State and Miami. The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 16-37 margin. The series has been closely matched over the past 11 years as the Cardinals hold a 7-4 advantage since the 1999-2000 season. Ball State is just 3-21 all-time against the RedHawks at Miami with its last victory coming in the 2001-02 season.
Last season, the Cardinals ran their winning streak to nine straight last year with a 90-62 victory over Miami to open the season at 15-2. The Cardinals shot a season-high 60.7 percent (34-of-56) from the field and set fire to the nets from long range as they connected on 66.7 percent (eight-of-12), for the second straight game. The 66.7 percent shooting from long-range is tied for the third highest in a single game in BSU history while the 60.7 percent from the field is sixth highest in a single game.
The Cardinals had a season-high 10 different players score in the victory, including eight players with seven or more points. DeMuth and Green led the charge with 16 points each.
DeMuth finished just shy of a double-double as she grabbed nine rebounds and finished tied for the team-lead with three steals. Green was five-of-six from the field, including two three-pointers, and also hit all four of her free throws.
BSU notched 36 points off of the bench in the victory as guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) also turned in a strong performance as she scored nine points, dished out five assists and tallied three steals.
Miami enters Wednesday's game with a 14-9 overall record and a 6-3 mark in Mid-American Conference play. The RedHawks have won three straight games heading into Wednesday with a sweep of the Michigan schools in the conference.
Miami is averaging 70.2 points per game this season while allowing 68.8 points per game against. Senior guard Amanda Jackson leads the team and the MAC in scoring at 22.4 points per game this season. Jackson became Miami's all-time leading scorer earlier this season as she surpassed former RedHawk Heather Cusick for the top spot.
Junior guard Jenna Schone is second on the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game and leads the RedHawks with 127 assists. She is coming off of a 20-point effort on Saturday against Western Michigan. Laura Markwood leads Miami on the boards at 10.3 caroms per game and is third on the team in scoring at 8.1 points per game.
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