WYOMING, Mich. – The Mount Mary University women's basketball team defeated Kuyper College 71-56 Saturday afternoon in the finale of the Grace Bible (MI) Classic. The win puts the Blue Angels at 5-14 on the season, and keeps the chance alive to reach nine wins; one more than the program's single season high since joining the NCAA.

On Friday, in the opening game of the Classic, the Blue Angels came out cold against the host Tigers,  shooting 24% in the first half.  That led to a 38-20 halftime deficit that wound up to be too much to come back from. In game two however, it took a half, but MMU finally found their stroke in a big way.  Leading 31-28 at the break, the Angels exploded for 40 points in the second stanza on 60% shooting (15-25).

Through thirty minutes, the game was a seesaw affair.  In a contest that featured 12 ties and 11 lead changes, it was Kuyper (3-12) that held a 48-45 advantage with 10:00 left to play.  That was when the Angels would use an advantage in the post to fly past the Cougars.  A 10-0 run over the next three minutes gave Mount Mary the lead for good and was part of a 26-8 overall run that finished the game.

The stellar offensive output was matched by the Blue Angel defense. MMU applied the clamps late as they did not allow the Cougars to score a field goal in the final 6:22 of the game. 

Keying the decisive stretch was Chrisandra Freeman (Fr./Cedar Rapids, Iowa).  The Angels' rookie scored 14 of her game-high 22 points in the contest's final 10 minutes.  Freeman went on to finish 10-20 from the floor while also pulling down 13 rebounds.  The performance marks the Cedar Rapids native's 5th double-double of the season.

Jasmine Meyer (Fr./Lansing, Kan.) chipped in 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists against just just one turnover.  Becky Onan (Fr./Grafton, Wis.) finished with 12 pts, seven rebs and two steals for her team. The rookie trio of Onan, Meyer and Freeman have supplied 66 percent of the teams scoring and over half the rebounds for MMU this season.

"This was the definition of a 'grinder'," said Angels' head coach Marc Heidorf.  "I am proud of our team for staying mentally tough enough to forge that one final decisive run."

The Blue Angels will not have much time to enjoy the victory.  In the midst of 5 games in 8 days, the squad will be back in action on Monday Feb. 9th at 6:00 pm to take on Lincoln Christian University at the Bloechl Center.