MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. ? The Ball State women's basketball team rallied from a 15-point first half deficit to take home a hard fought 81-69 victory over Mid-American Conference-West Division foe Central Michigan on Wednesday night at Rose Arena. Five different Cardinals scored in double figures as Ball State used a dominating second half performance to claim the victory.
The Cardinals improve to 13-14 overall on the season and 9-5 in MAC play. Ball State's victory coupled with Western Michigan's loss at Northern Illinois (67-65) moves the Cardinals back into first place as they are in a three-way tie with WMU and Eastern Michigan. The Cardinals hold the tiebreaker against EMU with the season series sweep and face WMU Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena in a battle of divisional leaders.
“Central Michigan came out and grabbed the momentum early,” acting head coach Lisa McDonald said. “Porchia did a great job getting the momentum back on our side down the stretch in the first half as she made some amazing plays. We had an all-around great team effort in the second half with stellar performances up and down the lineup.”
Ball State continued its strong offensive play as it shot 54.1 percent (33-of-61) from the field for the game and out-scored CMU 47-30 in the second half. The Cardinals dished out 17 assists compared to just seven for the Chippewas as six different Cardinals picked up helpers in the win. The game marks the sixth time in MAC play that BSU has reached 80 points and improved the Cardinals' record to 5-1 in those contests.
Senior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) paced the attack as she recorded her 28th career double-double as she scored 21 points and grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds. She connected on nine-of-17 from the field and scored 12 of her points in the second half.
Junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) turned in another inspired effort as she tied DeMuth with a team-high 21 points, while also grabbing eight rebounds and handing out five assists. Green connected on nine-of-16 from the field and highlighted the Cardinals' rally in the first half as she scored 15 points in the opening frame.
Sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) provided the spark late in the second half as she scored 14 points, all in the second half. McDonald nailed four-of-six three-pointers, with three of her long range shots coming in the final eight minutes of the game.
“Kiley (Jarrett) did a great job of leading the team today, Audrey hit big shots at key times and Julie willed us to victory throughout the game,” McDonald said. “Emily (Maggert) and Lisa (Rusche) established their presence in the paint down the stretch as everyone contributed in this win. The stakes were high tonight and I am proud of our effort and composure on the road.”
Central Michigan (6-20, 2-11 MAC) came out of the gate aggressive as it jumped out to a 19-11 lead just eight minutes into the game. Guard Angel Chan provided the early spark for CMU as she nailed two quick three-pointers and forward Britni Houghton scored eight early points.
The Cardinals continued to struggle in the early going as CMU posted a 9-2 run to take a 30-18 lead. Green and DeMuth combined to narrow the lead back to single diguts, but the Chippewas scored seven straight to take a 39-24 lead with 2:22 left in the opening half.
The Cardinals finally got things going as they scored the last 10 points of the half to go into the locker room down just five points at 39-34. Green was the catalyst in the final two minutes as she scored nine of the 10 points, including a jumper at the buzzer to swing the momentum Ball State's way.
Ball State connected on 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the field in the first half but just 16.7 percent (one-of-six) from three-point land. Green paced the attack with 15 points as she was six-of-nine from the field. Central Michigan was strong offensively in the first half as it hit 63.6 percent (14-of-22) from the field and 88.9 percent (eight-of-nine) from the charity stripe. Houghton matched Green in the first half with 15 points as she was six-of-seven from the field.
The Cardinals came out of the break and scored four straight points to pull within one and force a CMU timeout. The Chippewas wouldn't relent the lead just yet though as they hit back-to-back baskets to take a 43-38 lead. The Cardinals kept battling and continually pulled within a possession of the lead over the next five minutes.
Central Michigan took a 55-49 lead with 13:51 left in the game before Ball State took the lead for good with a game-changing 17-5 run. The Cardinals made some crucial baskets and came up with big stops in the spurt as they took a 66-60 lead with just over five minutes left in the game.
DeMuth was the offensive spark as she scored seven points in the run including an old-fashioned three-point play as Ball State took the lead back for good at 59-58. McDonald was deadly in the run as she nailed a three-pointer to start the stretch and connected on a long range shot to force CMU into a timeout.
The Chippewas had one last push as they pulled within two points at 69-67 with 3:20 remaining. Ball State secured the victory over the final three plus minutes as it closed the game on a 12-2 run.
DeMuth and senior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) started the run with baskets down low. Junior guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) scored her first basket of the game as she scored in transition in the spurt while McDonald dealt the final blow with a three-pointer as the shot clock ran down with under a minute left in the game.
The Cardinals connected on 55.9 percent (19-of-34) from the field in the second half including four-of-six (66.7%) from long range. The BSU defense held Central Michigan to just 36.7 percent (11-of-30) shooting in the second half and just two-of-seven (28.6%) from three-point land.
Rusche finished the game with 10 points, six of which came in the final eight minutes of the game. Maggert added 10 points off of the bench as she battled through foul trouble while only playing 14 minutes. Jarrett finished with five points, all in the final minute.
Ball State out-rebounded the Chippewas by a 34-25 margin in the game, including a 25-10 margin in the second half. The Cardinal defense turned 18 CMU turnovers into 23 points in the victory.
CMU was paced by Houghton who finished with a game-high 23 points. Latisha Luckett added 14 points while Chan finished with 12 points for the Chippewas.
The Cardinals return home for two straight games to close out the 2007-08 regular season starting with Saturday afternoon's pivotal MAC contest against Western Michigan. Game time is set for 3 p.m. at Worthen Arena in the battle of MAC-West Division leaders.
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