Basketball

LA CROSSE, Wis. – It has been a while since the Mount Mary University basketball team has faced an opponent from the rough-and-tumble Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Thursday, the Blue Angels got a small dose of just how tough WIAC is in a 79-25 defeat in the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Mitchell Hall.

All 21 players who saw action scored Thursday night, including all seven Blue Angels. After being stymied for much of the first half, senior forward Ashley Leverenz (Mauston, Wis.) rallied in the second stanza to score a team-high nine points and eight rebounds.

Senior guard Emily Barker (Oconomowoc, Wis.) added five points and a pair of steals in 27 minutes of action, while sophomore Donielle Yendriga (Conneaut, Ohio) tallied three first-half points and six rebounds in her first action of the season for Mount Mary.

The Eagles (7-5) kicked off the scoring with a layup, just 30 seconds into the game. A short jumper by freshman guard Phoenix Hulsey (Wauwatosa, Wis.) tied the game at 2-2, before UW-L assumed complete control. The Eagles finished the half on a punishing run, leading 49-9 at the break.

The Blue Angels struggled from the floor, shooting just 28 percent for the game while the Eagles scored 56 points in the paint en route to 50 percent shooting. Mount Mary shot just 3-for-19 from the floor (16 percent) in the first half alone.

Having played likely its toughest opponent of the season, Mount Mary will regroup for Saturday's showdown with Grace Bible College. The Tigers have raced out to a 7-4 record on the year and are currently riding a five-game winning streak heading into the 2:00 p.m. matchup at the Bloechl Center.