With the opportunity to open the season 5-0 - the best start in Ball State University history - the Ball State women's basketball team started the fifth game the same way the first four had begun.
The Cardinals dominated the first half against Illinois State, at one point leading by 15 that included a Redbirds scoring drought that lasted more than five minutes before Ball State held a nine-point lead at halftime.
But unlike previous games, the Redbirds came back in the second half with a 7-0 run, cutting their deficit to two and making the Cardinals fight to the end.
Led by Julie DeMuth's 19 point, 14 rebound night, the Cardinals held on for a 65-61 win by causing turnovers during critical possessions towards the end of the game and taking the ball inside to cause a plethora of fouls.
"These kids never give up," coach Tracy Roller said. "Their mindset right now is really fun to watch."
Tina Bolte ended the 7-0 run with a 3-pointer and after a layup by the Redbirds' Lashawn Johnson cut the lead back to three, Erica Cotton hit another three to give Ball State a six-point lead.
Illinois State re-took the lead for the first time since 11:39 remained in the first half when Brea Banks hit a 3-pointer.
The Cardinals took the lead for good with two free throws by DeMuth, who finished 6-of-8 from the free-throw line, to give Ball State a 49-48 lead.
Three-point shooting kept the Redbirds in the game. A three by Amber Shelton cut Ball State's lead back to one, 52-51, with 4:33 left, and Kristi Cirone hit another with 3:28 for the same point spread. Ball State increased the lead to six with another DeMuth free throw with one minute remaining, but the lead was cut in half with another three by Cirone, who attempted 11 and made four.
Ball State then went to the foul line and Bolte and Corbin combined for 3-of-4 to give Ball State another six-point lead.
Before those free throws, Illinois State turned the ball over three times in a row while only behind by one.
"They're always finding a way to win," Roller said. "Championship teams do that. We've seen where we score 90 points and win the game. We've seen where we've been held to 65 and win the game. We just kind of have a lot of tricks in our bag."
Ball State pounded the ball inside to DeMuth, Krista Stewart and Raechelle Hampton that resulted in Illinois State fouling twice as many times than Ball State - 28. DeMuth finished with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting. She also dominated the boards, grabbing 14 rebound.
"This game was a battle," DeMuth said. "It wasn't our prettiest game, but we'll take it. Some people said there might be pressure on us for the 5-0 thing, but there wasn't. Every game, we're going to come out the same way."
Despite the strong start, Roller said there were plenty of areas Ball State needs to work on.
"We're looking at a 5-0 season start+â-¡ - best start in school history - and we still can get better, which says a lot about the character of this team," Roller said.
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