WBB Wins Opener At Cleveland State, 76-64

Saturday, November 11

Cleveland, OH

1:00 PM

Ball State University

1-0

Cleveland State

0-1

Ball State

Cleveland State

November 11, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Ball State 76, Cleveland State 64

Box Score

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Junior guard Carmen Grande led the Cardinals in scoring with 20 points while dishing out nine assists in the Cardinals 76-64 season opening win at Cleveland State Saturday afternoon in the Wolstein Center.

Senior forward Moriah Monaco dropped 18 points off of 6-of-11 shooting from the field. Senior forward Destiny Washington recorded her fifth double-double of her career. Washington finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

"Early season basketball is always interesting," Ball State head women's basketball coach Brady Sallee said. "Today was the good, bad and the ugly. But when our team was challenged to be tougher, they responded. I thought our pace of play was the big story of the game and Carmen had a lot to do with that. Between having the ball in her hands, Moriah hitting some big shots and Destiny's double-double, it proved to be a recipe for success."

With the win, the Cardinals have now won their season opener two years in a row.

Ball State continues the trend of outscoring its opponents in the paint and today was no different, as the Cardinals won that category over the Vikings, 40-to-26. Cleveland State did out rebound Ball State, 50-to-45.

The Cardinals started slow to begin the game, scoring only three points while shooting 10.0 percent from the field at the 4:59 mark. The Vikings struggled from the floor as well, making its first field goal with five minutes remaining in the first quarter. After that, Cleveland State went up by eight (11-3) with 2:53 on the clock but a fast break reverse layup by Grande sparked a 10-5 run for the Cardinals to tie the game 13-13 at the end of the first quarter.

Ball State made a run late during the second period, as Washington made her impact during the 9-2 run. Washington had seven points, four rebounds and two blocks in the spurt. The Cardinals led 30-23 with 2:12 left to play in the half but the Vikings battled back with a 6-0 scoring spree to bring themselves within one (30-29) at intermission.

The Cardinals offense found a spark early in the third quarter, firing in 29 points on the Vikings while shooting 58.8 percent from the field. The effort gave Ball State a 59-47 advantage which was capped off by a fast break layup at the buzzer from Washington.

Ball State carried its third period momentum into the final 10 minutes of play. After the Vikings came to within five (61-56) of the Cardinals with 6:56 to play, Monaco quickly knocked down a 3-pointer. For the remaining seven minutes of play Ball State never looked back, ending the game with a 15-8 run for the victory.

The Ball State women's basketball team will host Missouri State Monday night at 7 p.m. in Worthen Arena for its home opener. It will be the first ever meeting between the Cardinals and the Bears. To purchase tickets for the game, log on to www.ballstatesports.com or call 1.888.BSU.TICKET.