Grande Scores Career High; WBB Pounds BGSU, 91-70
February 08, 2017 | Women's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - Sophomore guard Carmen Grande and senior center Renee Bennett each scored 20 points in the Cardinals 91-70 win over Bowling Green Wednesday night in Worthen Arena. With the win, Ball State improves to 17-7 overall and 10-2 in Mid-American Conference action while the Falcons fall to 6-17 on the year and 2-9 in league play.
It was a career high performance for both Grande and Bennett tonight. Grande's 20-point performance was a personal -high, her previous high was 18 which was scored against Bowling Green in the Stroh Center last season. Bennett pulled down a career high 15 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season and ninth of her career. Senior guard Jill Morrison also scored in double figures with 15 points after going 4-of-7 from the 3-point line. Sophomore guard Destiny Washington finished the night with 10 points and went 4-of-5 from the field.
For the game, all 12 Cardinals scored in tonight's contest. Ball State had an impressive rebounding performance after out rebounding Bowling Green, 45-to-25. The Cardinals also scored 52 points in the paint and shot 50.7 percent (35-of-69) from the floor.
The Cardinals were sluggish in the opening minutes of play, finding themselves down 9-5 against the Falcons after three minutes of competition. So Ball State answered by going to its bench, in particular sophomore guard and MAC West Division Player of the Week, Destiny Washington. Washington scored back-to-back layups to put the Cardinals up 19-12 over Bowling Green to end the first quarter. Grande also helped the Cardinals get back on their feet by finishing the quarter with seven points.
True to form, if shots weren't falling from the outside for the Cardinals, damage was being done with their inside game. Both Bennett and Grande scored points in the paint to give Ball State a 23-14 advantage at the start of the second period. After that, Grande pretty much took over, scoring eight straight points, 13 total in the second quarter, in a stretch of two minutes to give Ball State a 17-point (40-23) lead with 2:08 left in the half.
But it wasn't just Grande hitting shots. Bennett scored seven of her 13 first half points and Jill Morrison closed out the second quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers, giving Ball State a commanding 51-29 halftime advantage.
At intermission, two Cardinals had reached double figures, Grande (20) and Bennett (13) while the team shot 57.1 percent (20-of-35) from the field. Bennett had also reached a double-double with 11 rebounds, 10 of which were defensive boards.
Ball State opened the second half with a 9-3 run that would increase the Cardinals lead over the Falcons to 28 (60-32). After that, the Cardinals just dominated in all aspects of the game and Bowling Green could not recover. The Cardinals were able to use their bench in the third and fourth quarters, allowing some of the newcomers to get some in game experience.
The Ball State women's basketball team will end its portion of MAC cross-division match-ups when it hosts east division leader Ohio University Saturday at 2 p.m. in Worthen Arena. Saturday's game will be the Cardinals Play4Kay game. Play 4Kay unites a nation of coaches and players for a greater cause raise awareness and funds in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The Cardinals will also give away Cold Activated Pink Stadium Cups to the first 100 fans.
For more information about the Kay Yow Cancer Fund please click on the links provided below:
Ball State Play 4Kay Donation
Making A Difference
Play4Kay
It was a career high performance for both Grande and Bennett tonight. Grande's 20-point performance was a personal -high, her previous high was 18 which was scored against Bowling Green in the Stroh Center last season. Bennett pulled down a career high 15 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season and ninth of her career. Senior guard Jill Morrison also scored in double figures with 15 points after going 4-of-7 from the 3-point line. Sophomore guard Destiny Washington finished the night with 10 points and went 4-of-5 from the field.
For the game, all 12 Cardinals scored in tonight's contest. Ball State had an impressive rebounding performance after out rebounding Bowling Green, 45-to-25. The Cardinals also scored 52 points in the paint and shot 50.7 percent (35-of-69) from the floor.
The Cardinals were sluggish in the opening minutes of play, finding themselves down 9-5 against the Falcons after three minutes of competition. So Ball State answered by going to its bench, in particular sophomore guard and MAC West Division Player of the Week, Destiny Washington. Washington scored back-to-back layups to put the Cardinals up 19-12 over Bowling Green to end the first quarter. Grande also helped the Cardinals get back on their feet by finishing the quarter with seven points.
True to form, if shots weren't falling from the outside for the Cardinals, damage was being done with their inside game. Both Bennett and Grande scored points in the paint to give Ball State a 23-14 advantage at the start of the second period. After that, Grande pretty much took over, scoring eight straight points, 13 total in the second quarter, in a stretch of two minutes to give Ball State a 17-point (40-23) lead with 2:08 left in the half.
But it wasn't just Grande hitting shots. Bennett scored seven of her 13 first half points and Jill Morrison closed out the second quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers, giving Ball State a commanding 51-29 halftime advantage.
At intermission, two Cardinals had reached double figures, Grande (20) and Bennett (13) while the team shot 57.1 percent (20-of-35) from the field. Bennett had also reached a double-double with 11 rebounds, 10 of which were defensive boards.
Ball State opened the second half with a 9-3 run that would increase the Cardinals lead over the Falcons to 28 (60-32). After that, the Cardinals just dominated in all aspects of the game and Bowling Green could not recover. The Cardinals were able to use their bench in the third and fourth quarters, allowing some of the newcomers to get some in game experience.
The Ball State women's basketball team will end its portion of MAC cross-division match-ups when it hosts east division leader Ohio University Saturday at 2 p.m. in Worthen Arena. Saturday's game will be the Cardinals Play4Kay game. Play 4Kay unites a nation of coaches and players for a greater cause raise awareness and funds in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The Cardinals will also give away Cold Activated Pink Stadium Cups to the first 100 fans.
For more information about the Kay Yow Cancer Fund please click on the links provided below:
Ball State Play 4Kay Donation
Making A Difference
Play4Kay
Team Stats
BGSU
BALLST
FG%
.446
.507
3FG%
.417
.350
FT%
.769
.667
RB
25
45
TO
19
13
STL
2
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Players Mentioned
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