Western Michigan Wins Kraft Women's Basketball Tournament, Defeating Ball State

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March 15, 2003

CLEVELAND - Western Michigan University won its first Mid-American Conference Tournament title since 1985 with an 81-76 victory over Ball State University in the championship game Saturday (March 15) at Gund Arena in Cleveland.

The fourth-seeded Broncos (20-11), who were making their first championship-game appearance since 1988, took their first lead moments before halftime and never trailed in the second half in earning the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Western Michigan sophomore Casey Rost (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns), who was selected the tournament's Most Valuable Player, led a balanced attack with 20 points, including 15 in the second half.

After falling behind 11-2, Western Michigan tied the game at 34-34 on a three-pointer by senior Curleta Harris (St. Louis, Mo./Metro Academic and Classical) at the 1:18 mark of the first half. Harris then gave the Broncos their first lead at 39-37 with a jumper eight seconds before halftime.

In the second half, Western Michigan pushed its lead to as many as 13 (60-47) with 10 1/2 minutes left but third-seeded Ball State responded with a 27-14 run to tie it at 74-74 with 2:36 remaining on a three-pointer by sophomore Kate Endress (Evansville, Ind./Memorial), who scored 17 points in the comeback run. The teams then traded baskets before Western Michigan's Lori Crisman (Rushville, Ill./Rushville) hit a layup with 1:06 remaining, and the Broncos hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 21 seconds to ice the game.

Harris scored 17 points for Western Michigan, while sophomore Kelly Koerber (Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic) added 13 off the bench, including 11 in the first half. Junior Kristin Koetsier (Grandville, Mich./Grandville) recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Endress led the Cardinals (20-9) with a game-high 26 points, hitting 10-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-4 three-pointers. Junior Johna Goff (Fortville, Ind./Mount Vernon) poured in 17 points, with 15 of those in the first half on five three-pointers, and senior Tamara Bowie (Lansing, Mich./Sexton), a two-time MAC regular-season MVP, added 14.

Western Michigan, which came into the postseason as the nation's fourth-leading scoring team, set a tournament record with 329 points in its four victories (82.2 ppg), and Rost set a tournament individual mark with 80 points (20 ppg).

Rost was joined on the all-tournament team by Jilian, Bowie, Endress and the University of Toledo's Karin Hoogendam (St. Catharines, Ontario/Governor Simcoe).

With the win, the Broncos reached 20 wins for the first time since the 1977-78 season and only the third time in school history.

Ball State, which shared the MAC regular-season title with Toledo, lost in the championship game for the second straight season after falling to Kent State University 73-59 in 2002.

Postgame Notes
Championship Game -- #3 Ball Sate vs. #4 Western Michigan
FINAL SCORE: WESTERN MICHIGAN 81, BALL STATE 76

WESTERN MICHIGAN NOTES:

  • Western Michigan wins its first MAC Tournament Championship since 1985.
  • Western Michigan is the first No. 4 seed and the lowest seed ever to win the MAC Tournament Championship.
  • Western Michigan is now 2-1 in MAC Tournament Championship games.
  • Western Michigan improves to 20-11, which marks its first 20-win season since 1977-78 and the third 20-win season in school history.
  • Western Michigan set a MAC Tournament scoring record with 329 points.
  • Casey Rost set the MAC Tournament record for most points in the tournament with 80 points.
    The old record of 72 was held by Toledo's Kim Knuth (1999) and Eastern Michigan's Laurie Byrd (1982).
  • Kristin Koetsier went 32-for-33 from the free throw line in the tournament. That total set the MAC Tournament record for most free throws made. The previous record was held by Kent State's Julie Studer and Miami's Kim Lancaster with 30 in 2001.
  • With 10 points and 10 rebounds, Kristin Koetsier recorded her sixth double-double of the season.

BALL STATE NOTES:

  • Ball State falls in the MAC Tournament Championship game for the second straight season. Last season, Ball State lost Kent State, 73-59, in the MAC Tournament Championship game.
  • Ball State is now 0-2 in MAC Tournament Championship games.
  • Ball State is now 4-2 in the MAC Tournament under Head Coach Tracy Roller.
  • Tamara Bowie became just the fifth player in MAC history to rank in the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding. Bowie ranks sixth all-time in scoring with 2,042 points and 10th with 916 career rebounds.
  • With 26 points, Kate Endress recorded her sixth 20-point performance of the season.
  • Ball State is now 20-9.
  • Kate Endress scored 61 points during the MAC Tournament for a team-best 20.3 points per game.
  • With 12 rebounds, Jessica Reiter notched her fourth straight 10-plus rebounding effort. For the MAC Tournament, Reiter averaged 11.7 rebounds per game. Her 35 rebounds are the fourth-highest total in MAC Tournament history.