CLEVELAND - On the first possession of Friday's semifinal game against Northern Illinois University, Porchia Green drove the ball to the foul line and kicked out a pass to a wide-open Audrey McDonald.
With a flick of the wrist McDonald, who had cut behind the 3-point line on the right wing, put Ball State University's first three points through the hoop.
The play was merely a sign of things to come. The Cardinals rode McDonald's hot shooting and Green's all-around game to an 83-72 victory over the Huskies.
McDonald led Ball State with 18 points and connected 4-of-7 3-point shots. However, the Cardinals' freshman said it was the first shot of the game that was the most important to her.
"If that first one doesn't go down I don't know how the rest of the game goes," McDonald said. "Getting that first one down was a big confidence booster for the rest of the game."
While McDonald ended up leading the way for Ball State, it was Green who set the tone early for the Cardinals. Green scored eight quick points, including two 3-pointers, in the first 3:49 of the game and added an assist, a block, a steal and a rebound in that time.
The sophomore finished with 16 points, six rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist. Green said she was trying make sure her team got off to a quick start.
"I knew we had to come out strong because it's hard to beat a team three times [in one season]," Green said. "I thought [Northern Illinois] was going to come at us hard and I thought we had to give it back. Coach [Tracy] Roller said before the game that we had to play with heart and that's what I did."
Ball State only trailed the Huskies once, at 4-3 with 18:13 left in the game. Leading 17-15 midway through the first half, the Cardinals went on a 13-4 run to give the team its first double-digit lead at 30-19 with 6:15 remaining in the first half.
Though the Cardinals led throughout the game, Roller said she never felt her team had put the Huskies away.
"Right now is the only time when I've felt like we were OK in that game," Roller said in the post-game press conference. "We had a pretty good start, we got a lead, but Northern [Illinois] just kept coming back."
Helping keep Northern Illinois at bay, Ball State shot 17-of-17 from the free throw line on the game. The Cardinals' 17 consecutive makes set the MAC tournament record for most free throw attempts without a miss, breaking Eastern Michigan University's 1999 record of 10.
Northern Illinois coach Carol Owens said Ball State's free throw shooting was deflating for her team.
"They shot 100 percent from the free throw line and hit some threes against us," Owens said. "It's frustrating when you play 25 seconds of good defense and then give them a shot or they get to the free throw line. It definitely takes the air out of us."
All five Cardinals starters scored in double figures. Behind McDonald and Green, juniors Julie DeMuth and Lisa Rusche tallied 12 points and senior Kelsey Corbin added 11.
Northern Illinois senior Stephanie Raymond led all scorers with 23 points. Sophomore Becky Smith added 15 points for the Huskies.
Ball State will play Bowling Green State University in the Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Falcons beat Eastern Michigan University 71-57 in the other semifinal game Friday.
Though it was a big victory for Ball State, McDonald said the team is already focusing on Bowling Green and the championship game.
"It's probably started right now," McDonald said. "We're going to start focusing on [Bowling Green]. There's not a lot of time for celebration. You take the win. We wanted that win, we were supposed to win and we got it. Now we move on to tomorrow."
Stay with DN|Online for updates throughout the tournament.
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