Late in the second half of Wednesday's game, Audrey McDonald caught a pass at the top of the key, squared to the basket and released her seventh 3-point shot.
The Ball State University faithful watched the ball sail through the air in anticipation of McDonald's seventh 3-pointer of the game. As the ball bounced off of the back of the rim, the crowd let out a groan of disappointment, not expecting the miss.
"Me neither," McDonald said as she smiled about her one missed 3-pointer of the night. "Tonight was fun."
The six previous 3-pointers McDonald hit against the Chippewas marked a career high for the sophomore and was the 3rd-most in a game. Perhaps more impressive than the final number, however, was when McDonald's 3-pointers came. Four of the 3-pointers were in a four-minute span of the second half, allowing the Cardinals to never surrender a double-digit lead throughout the final period.
"Her teammates did a great job of getting her open looks," acting head coach Lisa McDonald said. "When Audrey has that much time to shoot, she is going to make it.".
In her team's previous game against the University of Toledo, Audrey McDonald finished 1-of-7 from the field, with six of those shots and her only points coming from beyond the 3-point arc,
Lisa McDonald said the sophomore's previous struggles came from taller players bearing down on the guard's 5-foot, 8-inch frame.
"You saw the box score from Toledo," Lisa McDonald said. "She struggled a little bit, and didn't lose her confidence. She came in and watched film, she got a lot of shots off and was just bombs away today. I think that's what makes her such a great shooter. I'm really proud of her performance and know she is capable of that any night."
Audrey McDonald finished the game shooting 6-of-7 from behind the arc and 7-of-9 for the game. Her season-high 20 points led Ball State on the night and was three points away from her career high, which she set against Northern Illinois University last year.
Audrey McDonald is shooting 37 percent from behind the arc this season, and is averaging 8.5 points a game. Last year, she fired 40 percent from behind the arc and averaged 8.7 points contest.
Audrey McDonald's near-perfect performance made teammate Kiley Jarrett's explanation of the Cardinals' 82-point offensive night easy to explain.
"When someone is on fire we try to give them the ball, and I think we did a great job with that," she said.
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
