LA CROSSE, WIS. – Mount Mary University lost to Alverno College today at the Holiday Inn Express Tip-off Classic 67-50. The loss moves the Blue Angels to 0-2 on the season and puts Alverno at 1-1.
After a tough first night in the classic, the Blue Angels bounced back with a much improved performance day two. The game again started off slow for MMU, but rookies Jasmine Meyer (Fr./Lansing, Kan.) and Chrisandra Freeman (Fr./Cedar Rapid, Iowa) got team going with some solid stretches on offense. Meyer did a bit of everything for her team throughout the game, but in the first half alone Meyer brought in five rebounds, one steal, one assist, four points, and three blocks. The laundry list of stats helped the Blue Angels keep the game manageable going into the locker room down 35-22.
The Inferno just came off one of best seasons in school history, battling all the way to the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament Championship game. With such a tough task ahead, the Blue Angels made major adjustments between the first and second game of the season. In the first contest MMU surrendered 44 turnovers, and cut that total to 16 tonight against the Inferno. Along with taking better care of the ball, the Blue Angels transition defense allowed only 18 points on the fastbreak.
Offensively, the Blue Angels really had some bright spots show. Meyer had 12 points and eight rebounds. Freeman put on a clinic at the charity stripe, in the second half she hit 12 of 14 free throws and finished with 19 points to lead MMU.
Taylor Baumgart (So./Burlington, Wis.) again got things going in the second half, tonight it was defense getting three of her four steals in the last 20 minutes. Baumgart also finished with 11 points.
After the classic, MMU will get ready for their home opener. The Bloechl Center is set to host Clarke College (4-3) on Thursday Nov. 20th at 6:00 pm.
