Flashes Travel to West- Leading Ball State
2/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Riding a season-high four game winning streak, the Kent State University women's basketball team (12-9, 8-2 MAC) travels to Muncie, Indiana to face Mid-American Conference West Division leader Ball State University (17-4, 8-2 MAC) Sunday with a 3 p.m. tip at Worthen Arena.
• The Golden Flashes battled back from a 19-point deficit to defeat Northern Illinois 78-71 Wednesday night (Feb. 7) at the M.A.C. Center for their sixth win in seven games. KSU now holds a three-game lead on Miami and Ohio for second place in the MAC East Division.
• La'kia Stewart (27 pts.) and Kristin Peoples (25 pts.) combined for 52 points against the Huskies, including 35 in the second half. It marked the second time in three games each player scored 25 or more points in the same contest after turning in a combined 54 marks at Toledo.
• The same five Ball State players have started in all 21 games and are all averaging double figures led by Julie Demuth (14.5 ppg).
• The Cardinals have dropped two of their last three games after starting out 7-0 in conference play. Ball State recently fell to No. 17 Bowling Green 86-76 Wednesday at Anderson Arena. Kelsey Corbin went 9-of-12 from the field and 9-of-9 from the line to lead both sides with 27 points.
• During the four-game winning streak, La'kia Stewart has averaged 22.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while Kristin Peoples has netted 20.0 points and 5.0 assists per contest.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio & Live Stats:
WHLO AM-640 (Tom Linder, play-by-play). Online radio simulcast available on the Kent State website at www.kentstatesports.com. Live stats available at www.ballstatesports.com. The radio broadcast can also be heard on the telephone via teamline at 1-800-846-4700. Team Code: 4424.
SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Flashes have dominated in the all-time series, leading 33-10, but have not won in Muncie since 1997. KSU has won three of the last five overall meetings including both of last seasons matchups. The Golden Flashes won the regular season battle in Kent last season 68-55 as well as the rematch in the MAC Tournament (69-52) at Quicken Loans Arena.
Prior to the last five meetings, Kent State had won 10 straight over the Cardinals. The Flashes also had a 10-game series winning streak from 1990-1995.
Kent State leads the all-time series in Muncie 11-7, where Ball State has won three of the last five. The Flashes are 20-3 vs. the Cardinals in Kent and 2-0 in Cleveland.
SCOUTING BALL STATE
The Cardinals (17-4, 8-2 MAC) returned four starters from last season and were picked to finish third in the West Division in the MAC preseason poll. Ball State won its first five games of the season including a 62-58 win at Michigan. The Cardinals later won 10 straight, including their first eight MAC games.
Currently 8-2 in league play, Ball State holds a one-game lead over Eastern Michigan for first place in the MAC West. The Cardinals received votes in the latest AP Top 25 and received votes in last week's coaches' poll. With 17 victories, Ball State has already matched last season's win total and has also clinched the fifth winning sesaon in Tracy Roller's sixth year as head coach.
Audrey McDonald ranks eighth in the nation with a .439 three-point field goal percentage (50-of0114) as the Cardinals rank 15th in the nation in three-point shooting. Other threats behind the arc include Porchia Green (28-of-64) and Tina Bolte (31-of-81). Ball State's overall field goal percentage of .459 is 17th in the nation, while its 73.7 points per game is 26th.
Julie Demuth leads the team in both scoring (14.5 ppg.) and rebounding (8.1 rpg.). Kelsey Corbin is shooting a team best .529 (91-of-172) from the field with 94 assists. The Cardinals are passing out a league-best 16.24 assists per game.
On Jan. 27, Ball State suffered its only home loss of the year, a 77-66 setback vs. Ohio. The Cardinals are 7-1 at Worthen Areana and 3-2 vs. MAC East opponents.
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