SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Melina Merritt's (Round Rock/Cedar Ridge HS) first career double-double led the University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team to a 96-59 win over LSU-Alexandria to open the season on Friday at the McDermott Center.

The Cardinals (1-0) got off to a terrific start, shooting 47 percent in the first two quarters and taking a comfortable 47-36 lead into halftime.

Merritt and Aricka Adams (Round Rock/Round Rock HS) ran the Cardinal offense smoothly on Friday night as they combined for 40 points.  Merritt scored a career-high 21 points and collected 10 assists to complete the double-double and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line.  Adams scored 19 and also had five steals in the Cardinals' season opener.

UIW never let LSU Alexandria get close and they pulled away in the third quarter when they outscored the Generals, 30-15.  The Cardinals finished the game shooting 49 percent from the field and they went 11-of-22 from three-point range.  Haley Frias (Georgetown/Georgetown HS) shot 4-of-8 from beyond the arc and finished with 14 points while Katelynn Johnson (Baton Rouge, LA/Summer Creek HS) and Merritt each added two three-pointers of their own.  Quincy Baker (Houston/Klein HS) and Yvonne Maosa (Arlington/Mansfield HS) had two blocks apiece, while Jordan Franks (Norman, OK/Norman HS) led the team with nine rebounds.

The Generals' Pearl Paulo led their team in scoring and rebounding with 20 points and six rebounds.  The team shot 32 percent from the field and went just 3-of-17 from three-point range.

Both teams turned the ball over quite a bit. The Cardinals turned it over 21 times, while the Generals finished with 25 of their own.

The Cardinals next game is on the road on Tuesday at 8 p.m. against Colorado State.  They will be back at home for the following three games starting on Thursday.
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