Nov. 16, 2011

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Michaela Herrod and Courtney Kenner shared scoring honors Wednesday as SIUE powered past Ball State 68-56 in women's college basketball action at the Vadalabene Center.

The Cougars never trailed and were tied just once as they improved to 2-0. It is the first time SIUE has opened the season with a pair of victories under Head Coach Amanda Levens.

"Everyone contributed; it was a total team win. I thought our team responded in the second half, played smart, and made good decisions," Levens said.

SIUE shot 62 percent (18-29) from the field in the second half. Melia Duncan was a perfect 4 for 4 in the second half. Kenner scored 14 of her 16 in the final 20 minutes.

The Cougars forced 27 Ball State turnovers. The Cougars outscored the Cardinals 33-8 off those turnovers. Melia Duncan and Raven Berry joined Kenner and Herrod in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Cougars shot 46.7 percent from the field and edged the Cardinals in rebounds 34-33.

"I thought we did a great job of converting when we got stops. The team had a good two days of practice prior to this game and they transferred that to the court tonight," said Levens.

Ball State, which dropped to 0-3 to start the season, got off to a slow start against the Cougars. The Cardinals did not hit a field goal for the first 7:40 of the game. The Cougars didn't start much better from the field but had scored the first six points of the contest.

SIUE rallied for an 11-point lead in the first half at 20-9 with 3:34 to play when freshman Katie Hempen stole the ball and turned it into an easy layup for her first collegiate points.

"We want to play great team defense and not let anything be easy," said Levens. "I thought the team did a good job executing exactly what we asked them to do in the game plan."

Ball State's Jazmin Hitchens went on a 7-0 run at the end of the first half to put the Cardinals within two at halftime at 24-22. Hitchens, who led the Cardinals with 14 points, made a 17-footer as the buzzer sent the teams in for halftime.

Herrod lifted the Cougars in the first half with 10 of her 16 points.

SIUE would be challenged only once in the second half when Ball State tied the score 35-35 on a free throw by Brandy Woody. From there, it was all SIUE.

The Cougars went on a 15-4 run with Duncan connecting on her second three-pointer of the game with 6:23 to play. After Ball State's Woody hit a layup to pull her team within eight at 54-46, the Cougars made a second surge with a 10-2 run to grab their biggest lead of the night at 16 points.

"We did a much better job finishing the second half and playing to win rather than getting tight or playing passive," Levens added.

SIUE's season-opening homestand concludes Sunday with a 1 p.m. matinee against UIC at the Vadalabene Center.

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