Having let a 10-point lead slip away, the women's basketball team found itself tied with Northern Illinois seven minutes into the second half in Wednesday's home contest. But Ball State University responded with a 9-0 run and eventually pulled away for a 65-53 victory in the regular season finale.
With the win, the Cardinals clinched the No. 3 seed in the Mid-American Conference West Division. Ball State (16-11, 9-7 MAC) will play host to Akron in the first round of the MAC tournament Saturday.
"This is a huge win for us," said junior guard Tina Bolte, who scored a team-high 16 points and had four 3-pointers. "Another one of our goals is to get 40 minutes, and that's what we haven't been doing all MAC season. In the final game we finally did it."
Bolte was followed in scoring by Julie DeMuth with 13 points and Lisa Ruche with 10.
Senior Raechelle Hampton scored four points and had four fouls in 14 minutes.
After playing only one minute against Western Michigan three games ago, Rusche played 21 minutes and was one point shy of her career high.
"I just came out with a sense of urgency," Rusche said. "I wanted to pretty much do it for Rae. These are her last games, and I don't want to let her down."
Kristin Wiener scored a game-high 24 points for the Huskies. Northern Illinois shot just 1-of-14 from 3-point range. Roller said the Cardinals' defense was extended to guard the perimeter, allowing Wiener to get baskets inside.
"When you defend 1-for-14 from the 3-point line, you're extending yourself out, so you're more vulnerable in the post," Roller said. "They definitely took it at us there."
Northern Illinois outrebounded Ball State 46-29. However, the Huskies didn't take advantage of the extra possession as they committed 21 turnovers.
ROSTER CHANGE
Sophomore forward Brandy Ross has been removed from the team, but will remain on scholarship, Roller said.
Ross last played in a game on Feb. 4 against Buffalo. She scored two points and had two rebounds in 12 minutes. The sophomore averaged 1.3 points in 12 games this season.
Ross is the second player who began the season with the team and is no longer with the program. Krista Stewart left the team for personal reasons earlier in January after not playing in a road game against Norther Illinois. She averaged 8.7 points in 15 games.
"Krista's decision to leave was her own," Roller said. "Brandy's was a lot of things that have happened over the last couple of years. So our team is just moving on."
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