Ball State University finished 12th in the Golfweek Conference Challenge on Tuesday after entering the day tied for 14th.
The Cardinals finished 46 strokes behind tournament-champion Pepperdine University, in the 18-team field.
After two great days of play and one rocky performance in the middle the Cardinals feel a sense of achievement after a good season opener.
"The best round of the tournament was played [Tuesday]," coach Katherine Mowat said. "I know they are very pleased that we ended [Tuesday] with our best score."
The team feels really positive overall about the first tournament of the year.
After not making par Monday, sophomore Kristtini Cain came back to shoot a two-under 70 in the third round, her best score. Cain's big day moved her up the leaderboard from 63rd to a 36th-place finish.
Junior Brittani Kelly was the Cardinals top performer in the tournament. She finished 30th, 11 over par.
Mowat said this is a perfect jump-start heading into the next four tournaments of the fall season.
The Cardinal Classic Tournament will be the home opener for the women's golf team from Sept. 19 to 20.