WBB Kids Day Set For Friday's Home Opener Against Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Photo by: Ball State Athletics

WBB Kids Day Set For Friday's Home Opener Against Arkansas-Pine Bluff

November 09, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Ball State Women's Basketball vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff

MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State women's basketball team will host its first Kids Day Event Friday, Nov. 11, when the Cardinals host Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 11 a.m. in Worthen Arena.

The event is open to elementary and middle school aged children, and all schools in attendance will receive complimentary tickets to the basketball game along with a free sack lunch.

Friday's game against the Lady Lions will also focus on anti-bullying, a subject on which the women's basketball team has been educating local schools since the beginning of the fall semester. For more information on anti-bullying, you can log onto www.Stop Bullying.gov.

The Cardinals are also showing their supports for our nations veterans. With a valid ID, all military veterans will receive complimentary admission and will be honored at the game.

Since the game is during normal work hours at Ball State, fans can park in green (commuter) or yellow (staff) lots and will not be ticketed. Fans will not be permitted to park in blue lots (residence halls).

Opening Tip
• Ball State opens its 2016-17 season against Southwestern Athletic Conference member Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Friday's matchup between the Cardinals and the Golden Lions marks the first meeting between the programs. Neither team played in an exhibition game this season. The game is also a Kids Day Event, which is a first for the Cardinals.

• The Cardinals finished their season with a 21-8 overall record while the Lady Lions ended their season with a 9-21 ledger.

• Arkansas-Pine Bluff had two players averaging double figures last season, led by senior forward Niya Head who topped the Lady Lions in scoring with 13.2 points per contest. Junior guard Destiny Brewton was second in scoring netting 11.1 points per game.

• Ball State last opened its season at home on Nov. 14, 2014 against Big Ten foe Purdue, which resulted in a 66-60 loss for Ball State.

• The Cardinals return four of their five starters from last season — senior center Renee Bennett (9.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg), senior guard Jill Morrison (9.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg), junior forward Moriah Monaco (11.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and sophomore guard Carmen Grande (6.4 ppg, 5.0 apg). Ball State lost the MAC Player of the Year and the program's leading scorer, Nathalie Fontaine, who averaged 20.6 points per game and 10.2 rebounds.

• Senior guard Jill Morrison has a total of 901 career points and needs 99 to reach the 1,000 point mark.

• The Cardinals have not won their season opener since the 2006-07 season, under the direction of former Ball State head coach Tracy Roller, when the Cardinals earned a 62-58 victory at Big Ten foe Michigan, Nov. 13, 2006.

• The Ball State women's basketball team has been picked second for the fourth straight season in the Mid-American Conference West Division Preseason Poll.