What appeared to be a mismatch on paper translated into a 29-point victory for Ball State at Worthen Arena on Monday night.
From the opening tipoff, Ball State (2-3) took complete control over Oakland City, out-manning and outplaying its opponent.
Prior to the midway point of the first half, the Cardinals put together a 17-0 run, resulting in a 21-2 advantage. The lead enabled the Cardinals to coast in the second half, which included a 15-0 run.
Senior co-captain Suzanne Grossnickle and freshman forward Jonessa Moore led the way with 10 points apiece for the Cardinals. Grossnickle said the ability to score was the result of owning the paint.
"We rebounded great," Grossnickle said. "We knew we had the opportunity to run the floor and we did."
Despite the double-digit victory, coach Kelly Packard said it is tough to operate the offense when shots are difficult to come by.
"My disappointment lies in the fact that we needed to work on our offense to find shots, but finding shots came easy, so we didn't have to work at that," Packard said. "I really wanted to leave the game going, ‘Gosh, our players started to recognize some of the things we've been talking about in our offense.'"
Having the opportunity to play everyone doesn't happen often, and Packard was content to do so against the Oaks.
"People work hard at practice, and if you're not part of a rotation when the game is really tight, I want to be the type of coach that rewards those players in chances where I get to," Packard said.
Moore, who's 10-point performance was a career-high, was a highlight for the Cardinals. During her first rotation, Moore recorded six points and caught the eye of Packard.
Sophomore forward Katie Murphy also elevated her game. Murphy tallied four rebounds and eight points against the Oaks.
"Katie is just getting better and better and we've played around [with her]," Packard said. "Is she going to play the five, [or] is she going to play the small forward? So we had a chance tonight to run her through in both positions."
Packard was pleased with the win, but acknowledged her team has a lot of growing to do.
"We weren't disciplined enough to get the shots in our offense that are going to make us better," Packard said. "The discipline to stand, look and watch for something to develop rather than to take a shot that falls outside our offense."
The Cardinals, now with back-to-back wins, will enjoy a small break for Thanksgiving before returning to practice next week.
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