Wednesday, March 3, 2004
Women’s hoops tops Ball State
Victory secures first-round home game in tournament
Article by:
Ian Waddick - Assistant Sports Editor
• iwaddick@northernstar.info
The NIU women’s basketball team clinched home-court advantage in
the first round of the MAC tournament with its 82-62 win over Ball State
on Tuesday at the Convocation Center.
The Huskies (12-15 overall, 7-9 MAC) secured the No. 8 seed in the
tournament — the final seed to host a home game before play shifts
to Cleveland. With the win, the program obtained its 500th victory.
“I’m really proud of how focused, how determined and how
disciplined they were,” NIU coach Carol Hammerle said. “They
just totally outplayed, out-hustled Ball State.”
NIU will host Ball State (12-15, 7-9), the No. 9 seed, at noon Saturday
at the Convocation Center.
Ball State coach Tracey Roller said she assumed the Cardinals were
playing Marshall in the first round of the tournament, and when she
was told they would see the Huskies again, she replied by saying, “Oh,
great.”
After staying close for much of the first half, the Huskies pulled
away in the final five minutes. NIU went on a 9-2 run in the final 5:25
to take a 30-23 lead into the half.
The momentum from that run carried over into the second half where
the Huskies opened on a 14-4 run to take a 44-27 lead.
“We kept up the intensity in the second half, which is something
we couldn’t do [in the first meeting with Ball State],” NIU
forward Jennifer Youngblood said.
The 82 points was the most the Huskies have scored in a regular-season
game this season.
Sophomore Joi Scott scored a team-high 20 points, while seniors Youngblood
and Monique Davis finished with 18 and 15 points, respectively, on Senior
Night.
“We were really worried about their post play,” Roller said.
“They just overpowered us. In the post, they got whatever they
wanted. I know Senior Night is always hard to play through; unfortunately,
we just didn’t match the challenge NIU brought tonight.”
Kate Endress scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Cardinals. The
second-leading scorer in the MAC also added seven rebounds in the loss.
“Endress is a heck of a player,” Hammerle said. “She
never quit playing, even when they were down late. She kept playing
and trying to make it happen.”
© 2004 Northern Star. All Rights Reserved.
