Seniors Lead Women?s Hoops To Second Straight MAC West Title

Wednesday, March 5

Muncie, Ind.

7 p.m.

Ball State University

Northern Illinois

Women?s Basketball Falls To Illinois State, 71-54

Seniors Lead Women?s Hoops To Second Straight MAC West Title

March 06, 2008 | Women's Basketball

By: Ball State Athletics

MUNCIE, Ind. ? For the second straight season the Ball State women's basketball team has clinched the Mid-American Conference West Division championship in the final game of the year as the Cardinals downed Northern Illinois 76-70 in overtime on Wednesday night at Worthen Arena. This marks the fourth MAC West Division title for the Cardinals in school history and the second time that Ball State has posted back-to-back titles (2001-02 and 2002-03).

The victory secures the Cardinals the number one seed from the MAC West Division in the upcoming 2008 MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio as the Cardinals are 15-14 overall and 11-5 in MAC play to finish tied with Eastern Michigan. Ball State claims the top spot courtesy of its season series sweep of the Eagles as the Cardinals posted a 9-1 record against divisional foes.

“Tonight was an unbelievable experience,” acting head coach Lisa McDonald said. “For us to win the MAC West Division for the second straight year on senior night and in overtime just leaves me speechless. This is a great win for our team and a great night for our players.”

Senior forward Lisa Rusche (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) and Julie DeMuth (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) were the catalysts for the Cardinals on senior night as they combined to scored 32 points and grab 18 rebounds. Rusche came just shy of a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. She was pivotal in the overtime period as she scored six of her points in the extra time and also came up with a key blocked shot.

DeMuth also came close to a double dip as he scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds while playing a season-high 36 minutes. She connected on six-of-nine from the field and was a perfect four-of-four from the charity stripe.

“Our two seniors Julie and Lisa were awesome tonight,” McDonald said. “They were not going to let us lose this game. They came up with big play after big play on both ends of the court. Our team really rallied around each other and never stopped fighting all game long.”

The two teams came out of the gate slowly as both teams struggled from the floor in the first half. Northern Illinois jumped out to a 14-9 lead just over 10 minutes into the game before junior guard Porchia Green (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington) scored on two straight possessions to force a NIU timeout.

Ball State took its first lead of the game at 21-20 with 2:08 left in the half as sophomore guard Audrey McDonald (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) nailed a jumper from the wing. The Huskies re-took the lead at 22-21 as Bianca Brown answered with a jumper of her own to send NIU into the locker room with the one-point halftime lead.

Ball State connected on just 32 percent (eight-of-25) from the field in the first half and just 20 percent (one-of-five) from three-point land. Green paced the early going with eight points in the opening frame while DeMuth tallied seven in the first half. Northern Illinois shot slightly better at 36 percent (nine-of-25) from the field but hit 40 percent (four-of-10) from three-point land.

The Cardinals came out in the second half and quickly took the lead as Rusche scored on the opening possession. NIU answered back to take a 27-25 lead just four minutes into the half. Ball State looked to break the game open as it posted a 17-4 run to take a 42-31 lead and force a NIU timeout.

McDonald got things going with her first three-pointer while junior guard Kiley Jarrett (Bloomington, Ind./North) nailed a three-pointer from the top of the arc during the spurt. Green posted five points in the run including an acrobatic three-point play.

Northern Illinois (10-17, 6-8 MAC) hung around as the Huskies hit back-to-back three-pointers to pull back within five points. The Cardinals answered right back as McDonald started to heat up with two more three-pointers in the second half. The Huskies though continued to battle as they used the three-point shot to make up ground rapidly as NIU hit six three-pointers in the second half alone.

Ball State took a four-point lead at 60-56 with 1:28 left in regulation as DeMuth nailed two free throws. After hitting one of two free throws to pull within three, NIU went to the line with four seconds remaining in the game down 60-57. Mauvolyene Adams nailed the first free throw to pull within two but missed the second.

The Huskies quickly fouled Rusche to send her to the line for the one and one. Rusche nailed her first free throw to extend the lead to 61-58 but missed her second and NIU grabbed the rebound and called a timeout with three seconds on the clock. Northern Illinois had one last chance and Jessie Wilcox nailed an improbable three-pointer just inside half court at the buzzer to send the game into overtime tied at 61-61.

Both team picked up their play in the second half as Ball State shot 58.3 percent from the field (14-of-24) and 80 percent (four-of-five) from long range. The Cardinals also hit eight-of-nine (88.9%) from the charity stripe in the second half. Northern Illinois picked up the pace as well as it hit 48.4 percent (15-of-31) from the field and 54.5 percent (six-of-11) from three-point land.

Ball State came out of the break and scored the first basket of the overtime period as Rusche went to work down low. The two teams traded baskets back-and-forth over the first two minutes of overtime as the scored was tied 65-65.

The Cardinals took control of the extra time with a 7-0 run to take a 72-65 lead with 44 seconds remaining in the game. McDonald gave the Cardinals the lead for good with her fourth three-pointer while Rusche and Jarrett added back-to-back baskets. NIU continued to battle as Kylie York hit another three-pointer to narrow the BSU to four points, but Rusche nailed both free throws with 26 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Ball State finished the game shooting 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the field as the Cardinals hit 83.3 percent (five-of-six) in the overtime period. The Cardinals finished 54.5 percent (six-of-11) from three-point land in the victory. BSU was strong from the free throw line against NIU as it hit a season-high 94.1 percent (16-of-17) from the charity stripe.

Green finished the night with a game-high 19 points as she was six-of-15 from the field, but a perfect seven-of-seven from the free throw line. She turned in another all-around stellar effort as she added six assists, five rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots.

McDonald added 14 points as she was five-of-11 from the field, including four-of-eight from three-point land. She has now recorded 78 three-pointers this season to move into a tie with former Cardinal Johna Goff (2002-03) for the Ball State single season three-point record. The 78 three-pointers are the second most in the MAC this season and are tied for eighth most all-time by a player in the MAC in a single season.

Northern Illinois finished the game shooting 41.5 percent (27-of-65) from the field, including 44 percent (11-of-25) from three-point land. The Huskies only went to the free throw line eight times in the loss, connecting on five free throws. Shari' Welton led the Huskies with 14 points while York and Wilcox each added 12 points in the loss.

Ball State has a bye in the first round of the 2008 MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio so the Cardinals will be off until Tuesday, March 11^th. The Cardinals will meet the winner of East four seed Buffalo vs. West five seed Toledo at 5:30 p.m. at the Quicken Loans Arena.

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