Ball State women's basketball beats Purdue for first time since 1979

MUNCIE, Ind. — The best start to a season in Ball State women's basketball history just got even better.

Ball State traveled to Purdue and came away with a 66-60 win on Monday night, improving to 7-0 for the first time ever. It was the Cardinals' first win over the Boilermakers since Dec. 13, 1979 and snapped a 16-game losing streak in the series.

"We've got so much respect for Purdue's program that it makes it a really, really big win," head coach Brady Sallee told The Star Press. "Anytime you can beat them, especially in their gym, that makes it big. The in-state part of course is huge. I'm just really happy for our players, our university and our fans. It's something everybody can be really proud of."

Moriah Monaco led three Cardinals in double figures with 18 points to go with 10 rebounds. Carmen Grande added 17 points, seven assists and six boards, while Frannie Frazier had 12 points.

Ball State didn't shoot the ball particularly well as it was 27 of 66 (41 percent) from the floor and 6 of 15 from distance, but held Purdue to a 33.8 percent shooting clip. The defense limited the Boilermakers to just 16 points in the second and third quarters combined.

"They weren't gonna let us just stand out there and play HORSE," Sallee said. "They were gonna make it tough and we knew that we had to be equally as tough to win. We relied on Moriah to get us some big buckets, Carmen to get us some big buckets, Then we just grinded out a lot of offense. ... It all allowed our defense to win this game for us."

After Purdue cut Ball State's lead to 31-28 to open the second half, the Cardinals responded with a 9-0 run that gave them a commanding lead. Purdue led for a total of 35 seconds in the game.

The win was Ball State's second straight over an in-state foe, as it beat Butler 87-75 last week.  It also marked the Cardinals' second win over a Power 5 opponent this season. They beat Vanderbilt 88-79 on Nov. 20.

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Head coach Brady Sallee is now 9-8 against in-state opponents during his Ball State tenure.

Ball State is approaching the program's longest winning streak ever, which was 11 straight during the 2006-07 season. The Cardinals will look to keep up their hot start to the season when they begin a four-game home stand against Southeast Missouri State on Thursday.

"I told my team in the locker room: This win is only as good as what we do from here," Sallee said. "If we go lay an egg after this, it's kind of all for naught. We've got to continue to focus on being better. ... But if can continue to defend with this kind of toughness and even get better from there, that's gonna bode well."

Jake Fox is a high school sports writer at The Star Press. Contact him at (765) 213-5848, jfox@muncie.gannett.com or @FoxJake_.