MUNCIE, Ind. ? Ball State sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind.,/Kokomo) set a school record and tied a Mid-American Conference record with nine three-pointers on Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena to lead the Cardinals to a pivotal 74-69 victory over Western Michigan in the MAC-West Division showdown.
The victory improves the Cardinals to 14-14 overall on the season and 10-5 in MAC play. The Cardinals remain in first place in the MAC-West Division as they are tied with Eastern Michigan with one game remaining in the regular season. Ball State also clinches a first round bye in the upcoming MAC Tournament as it holds both tiebreakers against EMU and WMU, courtesy of the season series sweep.
The Cardinals can claim the number one seed from the MAC-West Division and their second straight MAC-West Division title with a victory on Wednesday night in their regular season finale. Ball State will host Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. at Worthen Arena with the West Division title on the line.
“Today was a big win for our team,” acting head coach Lisa McDonald said. “We had great starts and finishes to both halves as we turned in a great all-around effort on both ends of the floor. We are playing some of our best basketball at the right time of the year.”
McDonald finished the game with a career-high 27 points as she hit nine-of-12 from three-point land. Her nine three-pointers breaks the Ball State single game record of eight three-pointers set by Johna Goff (2002) and Laurie Kitts (2000). She also ties the single game mark for the MAC in conference games with Miami's Jamie Stewart (2000) and Central Michigan's Jodi Culbertson (2000).
“Audrey had an amazing performance today shooting the basketball,” McDonald said. “She played with a lot of confidence and our team did a great job of getting her open looks. Kiley (Jarrett) was strong again running our offense and keeping us composed down the stretch.”
Ball State came out of the gate on fire against Western Michigan as the Cardinals jumped out to a 12-1 lead just five minutes into the game. McDonald started things early as she nailed two three-pointers in the opening run, while senior forward Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) added back-to-back baskets to force a WMU timeout.
McDonald nailed her third three-pointer of the first six minutes to give the Cardinals a 15-3 lead. Western Michigan responded with a 12-2 run to pull within two points at 17-15. The Broncos were sparked by Molly Dwyer as she scored five straight points in the run.
The Cardinals answered the adversity with 13 straight points as they took a 30-15 lead with just over five minutes left in the first half. McDonald nailed two more three-pointers in the run while junior guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) added five points, including a three-pointer to cap the spurt.
Once again, WMU had an answer as it posted a 12-2 run to narrow the BSU lead to just five at 32-27. The Cardinals closed out the first half with six straight points to take a 38-27 lead into the locker room. Senior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) scored on two straight possessions while junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) scored on a put-back to close the scoring for the half.
Ball State connected on 53.6 percent (15-of-28) from the field in the first half, including 46.2 percent (six-of-13) from three-point land. McDonald was the early catalyst as she nailed five three-pointers in the first half to finish with 15 points in the frame. Western Michigan was held to just 29 percent (nine-of-31) shooting from the field in the first half as Dwyer led the way with 11 points.
The Cardinals came out and scored the first five points of the second half to take a 43-27 lead as McDonald hit another three-pointer. The two teams traded baskets back-and-forth with freshman forward Emily Maggert (Paris, Ill./Paris) providing the offense with seven straight points for the Cardinals.
Ball State took its largest lead of the game at 59-40 as it used a 9-2 run with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game. McDonald started the run with a three-pointer while Maggert added four points in the spurt to force another WMU timeout.
Western Michigan regrouped and posted a 13-3 run to pull with nine points at 62-53. McDonald gave the Cardinals their only points in the run with her eighth trifecta of the game. Western Michigan started to heat up as well as guard Tiera DeLaHoussaye scored on an old-fashioned three-point play and Dwyer hit a three-pointer to cap the run.
Ball State slowed the run temporarily with back-to-back scoring possessions but the Broncos turned in a 10-3 run to pull within five points at 68-63 with just 1:41 left in the game. Sarah Vest scored four points in the run while McDonald did all she could with her record-setting ninth three-pointer as BSU's only points in the run.
DeMuth slowed the WMU spurt with a jumper from the free throw line to put Ball State up by seven. The game became a test of free throw shooting as the Cardinals squandered a chance to slam the door shut on the Broncos as BSU missed the front end of one-and-one free throws on three straight occasions to keep WMU in the game.
Western Michigan (12-17, 9-6 MAC) was able to capitalize on the misses and pulled within three points at 70-67 with 33 seconds left. Jarrett settled the Cardinals down though as she nailed four straight from the charity stripe to seal the victory and the season series sweep for Ball State.
The Cardinals finished the game shooting 47.4 percent (27-of-57) from the field and 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from three-point land. Ball State was just 10-of-16 (62.5%) from the free throw line in the victory. Only one other player besides McDonald hit a three-pointer for the Cardinals with Jarrett connecting on a three-pointer in the first half.
Jarrett finished the game with 11 points and five assists as she played 39 minutes. She was four-of-five from the charity stripe including her final four free throws. Maggert added 11 points and six rebounds off of the bench for the Cardinals. Green finished with eight points, seven rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals in the all-around solid performance.
DeMuth scored nine points and added five rebounds while Rusche chipped in eight points and eight rebounds. Rusche was strong on the defensive end as she tied her career-high with four blocks as the Cardinals tallied a season-high eight blocked shots.
Western Michigan shot 36.5 percent (23-of-63) from the field in the loss, including just 29.4 percent (five-of-17) from three-point land. The Broncos were strong from the free throw line as they hit 81.8 percent (18-of-22) from the stripe. Vest led four Broncos in double figures with 16 points off of the bench while Dwyer finished with 14 points. DeLaHoussaye added 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the loss.
The Cardinals will be back in action on Wednesday night as they host Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. at Worthen Arena in the regular season finale. The Cardinals will have chance to clinch their second straight MAC-West Division title and the number one seed from the West Division in the upcoming MAC Tournament. The game will also be senior night as Ball State recognizes both Julie DeMuth and Lisa Rusche for their contributions to the program.
####
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
