MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State women's basketball team hits the home stretch of the 2007-08 regular season Saturday afternoon as the Cardinals host Mid-American Conference rival Western Michigan at 3 p.m. at Worthen Arena in a pivotal MAC-West Division showdown. Admission is FREE to all fans.
The two teams enter the game tied atop the MAC-West standings with 9-5 MAC records and have just two games left in the regular season. The winner of Saturday's contest will have the upper hand in gaining the West Division's top seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio.
“We know that this is going to be an exciting game with a lot on the line for both teams,” acting head coach Lisa McDonald said. “Western Michigan always brings their best game so we will have to match their intensity. I think we are playing our best basketball at the right time and it is great to play a big game late in the year at home in front of our great fans.”
Ball State enters the game with a 13-14 overall record and has won three straight games since returning to play against the MAC-West Division. The Cardinals have posted a 7-1 record so far this season against the West Division and are 16-2 over the past two season in divisional games.
The Cardinals are coming off of an 81-69 victory at Central Michigan in their final road game of the season. Senior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) posted a double-double against CMU as she scored 21 points and grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds. Junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) also tallied 21 points, 15 of which came in the first half.
Green leads the team in scoring this season at 13.0 points per game and is tops on the squad on the glass at 7.1 rebounds per game. DeMuth is second on the team in both scoring (11.7) and rebounding (6.6). She recently became just the 11th player in Ball State history to play over 3,000 minutes in her career.
Senior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) is third on the team in scoring at 11.0 points per game and third in rebounding at 6.1 boards per game. Freshman forward Emily Maggert (Paris, Ill./Paris) has been one of the top reserves in the entire MAC this season as she averages 9.4 points overall and 12.9 points in MAC games this year.
Sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) is fifth on the team in scoring at 9.2 points per game. She has connected on 41.4 percent (65-of-157) from three-point land this year and is already sixth all-time in BSU history with 127 career three-pointers made. Junior guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind.,/North) chips in 8.5 points per game and is second on the team with 111 assists.
Saturday's game is the 59th meeting all-time between Ball State and Western Michigan. The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 26-32 margin but have won six out of the last seven meetings with the Broncos. The Cardinals are 16-13 all-time against WMU at home at Worthen Arena, including a 76-60 victory here last season.
Earlier this season, the Cardinals opener conference play with an 84-70 victory over Western Michigan at University Arena. The Cardinals used a strong second half in which they out-scored WMU by 54-39 to take home the victory. Ball State posted a 20-2 run midway through the second half to slam the door shut on the victory.
Maggert burst onto the MAC scene in impressive fashion as she scored a career-high 24 points off of the bench, including 17 in the second half. She connected on nine-of-10 from the field while also grabbing nine rebounds in her first career MAC contest.
The Cardinals overcame a slow first half in which they only shot 37.1 percent from the field and just 14.3 percent form three-point land. Ball State came out in the second half and hit 64.5 percent (20-of-31) from the field and 75 percent (six-of-eight) from three-point land.
Jarrett was another offensive catalyst as she scored a career-high 19 points. She hit seven-of-10 from the field and connected on a career-high five three-pointers. Green tallied a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists.
WMU was paced by Amanda Parker as she scored a team-high 18 points. Tierra DeLaHoussaye added 14 points and eight assists in the loss.
Western Michigan enters the game with a 12-16 record overall and a 9-5 mark in Mid-American Conference. WMU has dropped two out of its last three games since returning to MAC-West play including a 67-65 loss at Northern Illinois last time out.
The Broncos are averaging 70.2 points per game this season while allowing 71.8 points per game against. WMU is led by DeLaHoussaye as she averages 12.1 points per game. She also leads the team with 215 assists and 96 steals while ranking second in rebounds at 6.1 boards per game.
Parker is second on the team in scoring at 11.0 points per game and is second on the team with 34 three-pointers. Four Broncos averaged between eight and nine points per game on the year including Brenna Bankston on 8.7 points per game.
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