Final Stats
MUNCIE, IN - Toledo (4-9, 0-1 MAC) suffered its fourth-consecutive loss on Wednesday night with an 80-59 setback at Ball State (10-2, 1-0 MAC) at John E. Worthen Arena. The contest was the Mid-American Conference opener for both squads.
The story of tonight's league opener was the performance of the Cardinals' frontcourt. They dominated the action inside and held a 44-26 edge in points in the paint. Another key to victory for the home team was their pressure defense, which caused UT to turn the ball over 26 times. Ball State translated those turnovers into 35 points and defeated the Rockets for a third straight time.
BSU was led by frontcourt players Lisa Rusche (18 pts., 8 rbs.), Julie DeMuth (13 pts., 5 rbs.) and Becca Bajorek (9 pts.) The trio combined to score half of their team's points. Kelsey Corbin also finished in double figures with 14 points and a game-high 11 assists.
The Cardinals shot an impressive 57.9 percent (33-of-57) from the field, including a blistering 66.7 percent (18-of-27) in the second half.
Senior Danielle Bishop led three UT players in double figures with 12 points. Sophomore Lacey McNulty had 11 points and senior Savannah Werner added 10. The Midnight Blue and Gold also received strong play off the bench from freshman Allie Clifton, who tallied six points in 11 minutes.
The Rockets were held to 38.5 percent (25-of-65) from the field, including 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from three-point land. UT did win the battle on the boards, 41-27.
BSU hit its first five shots from the floor, including four layups from Rusche, to jump out to an early 12-6 lead and forced UT into a timeout with 16:53 left with the half.
As the first half progressed, UT stayed close behind strong play inside from Werner. The Angola, IN native knocked three field goals and the Rockets trailed 17-13 with 11:01 remaining in the first stanza.
The Cardinals continued strong play inside from Bajorek, DeMuth and Rusche as the first half came to a close and the Rockets trailed 35-22 at the intermission. The trio scored 20 of their 35 points in the opening 20 minutes.
BSU opened the second half with the same fire as it showed in the opening stanza and five consecutive points from Porchia Green made the score 45-28, which forced UT into another timeout with 16:46 left.
The Cardinals kept up their offensive attack in the second half behind strong play from Demuth and Rusche to extend their advantage to 66-44 with 8:07 remaining.
Toledo had no answer for BSU's strong play inside and could not pull closer than 14 points the rest of the way.
The Rockets return to action on Saturday, Jan. 6 and host West Division preseason favorite Eastern Michigan. Tipoff from John F. Savage Hall is slated for 7:00 p.m.
