Career highs of 36 points and 14 rebounds from sophomore center Paige Ballinger Friday night helped the Wildcat women’s basketball team get a 2-0 start to the season.

“We want to get the ball inside as part of our system,” coach Chris Kielsmeier said.

The Wildcats beat Lindenwood and William Jewell during the Crossover Classic.

On Friday, the ‘Cats hosted the Lindenwood Lions. WSC got out to an early leads at 7-0 then 12-4. At the end of the quarter the score was all tied up at 18 apiece.

The Wildcats again got out to a hot start in the second quarter, only to see their lead diminish. WSC trailed 32-28 with three and a half minutes left in the first half. The ‘Cats used three Ballinger free-throws in the final minute to take a 37-36 halftime lead.

Ballinger ended the first half with 22 points, surpassing her former career high for a single game.

“We did a good job establishing [Ballinger] early,” Kielsmeier said. “She got single coverage all night so we just continued to go to her, and she made plays.”

The ‘Cats came out of the locker room focused and extended their lead early in the third quarter. The Lions charged back in the middle of the quarter. WSC again finished the quarter strong, taking a 53-51 lead into the fourth.

The Wildcats relinquished their lead early in the final quarter on a pair of Lion three-pointers. WSC trailed most of the fourth. With just under four minutes to play, the Wildcats started their comeback, outscoring the Lions 14-6 in the final four minutes. WSC won the game 71-67.

Along with Ballinger’s double-double, Sadie Murren had eight assists to lead the team.

On Saturday, the Wildcats held William Jewell to just 24 percent shooting on route to an 80-49 win.

“We didn’t make as many mistakes,” Kielsmeier said. “On Friday we made a lot of mistakes on both ends of the floor that really gave up a lot of easy points. We cut down those mistakes on Saturday, which helped us defend them better.”

WSC never trailed in the game, starting the game off 6-0. The Wildcats ended the first quarter with an already commanding lead of 26-10.

The ‘Cats continued to dominate during the second quarter, ending it with a 44-27 lead.

The third quarter consisted of more WSC baskets and few William Jewell points. After three quarters of play, the Wildcats led 68-36.

During the fourth quarter, the ‘Cats finished out the game out the game strong, eventually winning 80-49.

Ballinger again led the team in points and rebounds, as well as blocks. She had 17 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots.

The WSC women’s basketball team continues their season Wednesday at Rockhurst at 5:30 and then Thursday against York College in Wayne at 7. WSC has one game next Monday, at home against Augustana for a 6 p.m. start time.

“We need to take care of the ball,” Kielsmeier said. “We turned the ball over 39 times in two games this weekend. That is way too high. Our offensive execution and our ability to finish needs to get better. We also need to continue to improve defensively.”