With more than three minutes remaining in Wednesday's game at the University of Toledo, Julie DeMuth caught a Kiley Jarrett entry pass in the low post and put in an off-balance layup, drawing a Rocket foul in the process.
The junior forward converted the three-point play, giving DeMuth her 26th point of the game. The play exemplified what was a clinic for the Cardinals' leading scorer, who led Ball State University to a 66-50 victory at Toledo.
DeMuth finished with 28 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. Cardinals' coach Tracy Roller said she had a feeling it could be a big night for her star forward.
"From the beginning I knew she would have a special night," Roller said. "Her rebounding was crucial for us tonight. I'm just very proud of Julie because it was definitely a career game for her."
With a 11-9 lead five minutes into the game, the Cardinals went on an 16-2 run during the next several minutes, including 13 unanswered points. When the Cardinals' charge subsided, Ball State led the Rockets 27-11.
The Cardinals shot 6-of-14 from behind the 3-point line throughout the game. However, four of Ball State's 3-pointers came during the critical run. Senior reserve Tina Bolte had two of those and finished with nine points on 3-of-5 3-point shooting in the game.
DeMuth, who had the other two 3-pointers on 2-of-3 from outside the arc, said her team was able to take advantage of Toledo's zone defense during the stretch.
"We saw them in zone and we were just able to make that extra pass to get open shots," DeMuth said. "We had a little trouble at the beginning, but we have great shooters on this team. So we knew if we kept at it we'd be able to get it going."
Ball State also took advantage of a physical Toledo defense that committed seven fouls in the first four minutes of the second half. The Cardinals shot in the bonus for the remainder of the period.
DeMuth said the most important thing was that the Car.dinals were able to keep their cool against the physical play.
"It's always nice to get to the line because you're getting beat up and then at the line you have the chance to get free opportunities," DeMuth said. "Keeping our composure has really been a big key for us all year."
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