As Senior Night ceremonies began following Wednesday's home win, Ball State University head coach Tracy Roller joined the select crowd at center court to honor the Cardinals' two graduating seniors.
Walking through the small group, seniors Julie DeMuth and Lisa Rusche looked Roller in the eyes and hugged their coach tight enough to encompass her two-month absence from the team.
Roller, who has been battling mononucleosis, was last seen by her players Dec. 29 against Butler University. However, the coach surprised everyone when she arrived to bid DeMuth and Rusche goodbye in their last collegiate home game.
"I started crying," Rusche said. "I was like 'Oh, she made it!' It was nice to have her back because obviously it has been a while."
Roller was unavailable for comment following the game.
Rusche and DeMuth made the most of their final home appearance, both scoring in double digits and leading the team with nine rebounds apiece.
DeMuth, a senior tri-captain, finished with 17 points and was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Almost mirroring her graduating teammate's performance, Ruche scored 15 points and blocked two shots.
Audrey McDonald, who finished with four 3-pointers to tie Ball State's single-season record with 78, didn't want to talk about her achievement after the game, instead averting the attention to her seniors.
"Enough about me, what about these two seniors?" McDonald said. "They bring it every day, and they teach us how to play."
From the start of the game, it was apparent who the game was honoring. Signs donning the numbers 14 and 42 filled the stands, and the excitement multiplied as Rusche and DeMuth's names echoed through Worthen Arena as the finale to Ball State's starting five.
The teammates went on to score the Cardinals' first nine points, sparked by a DeMuth 3-pointer three minutes into the first half.
The duo finished the game as strong as they started. In the final five-minute period, Rusche led her team with six points, two rebounds and one blocked shot. Despite playing her final home game, Rusche said, the night carried no different emotions than any of her other 110 games.
"I think we still come into every game with the same mentality," Rusche said. "We want to win and we want to win big. I think we accomplished that today. So as far as emotion goes, I don't think it was any different."
However, DeMuth disagreed and said the game's end added the night's overall emotion.
"It was pretty emotional just because we were in overtime," DeMuth said. "When we were in that huddle [point guard] Kiley Jarret was just like 'We are not losing this.'"
Acting head coach Lisa McDonald said the combination of Senior Night, the overtime victory, clinching the MAC West Division title and Roller arriving to surprise her departing players overwhelmed her with emotion.
"I am just speechless; I am on the verge of just crying," Lisa McDonald said. "I am just really proud of our whole team, but especially our seniors. They have been through so much just in this year alone and their entire careers. So to send them out on a night like this, I think the way they played tonight epitomizes who they are. The way they finished sums up their careers."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
