To their credit, the Hoosier Stars made Thursday night's scrimmage against the Ball State University women's basketball team a little more uncomfortable than the Cardinals anticipated.
A strong finish against the Stars gave Ball State a 93-89 victory heading into the Cardinals' season opener at the University of Michigan on Monday.
After cruising to a 49-35 first half lead, the Stars took their only lead of the game at 75-74 with 7:46 to play in the second half. Cardinals coach Tracy Roller said the Stars were a great test for her team.
"This team was just very well coached tonight," Roller said. "They went after our weaknesses, and against a team that hasn't practiced or been together, that's difficult to do. But [the Stars' coaches] got [the Stars] to go after our weaknesses, and I was very grateful for that."
Seeing her team's lead evaporate, Roller called a time-out. Ball State then responded with a 17-6 run over the next 5:12, giving the Cardinals a 10 point, 91-81 lead with 2:34 left in regulation.
Roller said her players' ability to respond to the Hoosier Stars was a major positive.
"It really showed the kind of heart our team has," Roller said. "When they came at us, we battled back. So I was very impressed with that. I thought we had a lot of poise, and we're going to need that at Michigan."
Cardinals' forward Julie DeMuth had her second double-double of the pre-season, leading all players in points with 22 and rebounds with 13.
Roller said the junior forward is invaluable to the Cardinals when she's on the floor.
"When you can get a kid like that who can consistently give you a double-double, it's exciting to see," Roller said. "Julie's effort offensively and getting rebounds really gets us going. So she really played great tonight."
For the second straight game, Ball State got a solid effort from its two freshmen, Audrey McDonald and Kalynne Proctor. McDonald had 14 points, shooting 4-for-6 from behind the three-point line, while Proctor finished with 15 points and five rebounds.
"Our freshman are playing very well for us right now," DeMuth said. "Kalynne's playing very well in the post, and Audrey's going to [make her shots] from anywhere. So they're doing what we need them to do right now."
After winning its first scrimmage by a lopsided margin 69-44, DeMuth said the competitive win was exactly what Ball State needed heading into its difficult non-conference season.
"Michigan's a Big Ten team, so that's going to be a very tough environment," DeMuth said. "So we always want that competition in the pre-season to get better. That's where people step up, and that's where we step up as a team."
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