CHICAGO – Today at the Keating Sports Complex, Mount Mary University defeated the host Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks 44-29. The win for MMU snaps a five game losing streak and gives the Blue Angels a 2-6 record on the season.
An early 3-point field goal by Jess Runge (Jr./Freedom, Wis.) began the game's scoring. After that, the teams traded buckets ending the first quarter in a 10-10 stalemate.
Quarter number two brought more of the same back-and-forth basketball. The slight edge went the way of the Scarlet Hawks as they shot 9-of-29 to the Blue Angels 5-of-27. IIT led 21-17 at the end of the half. Leading the way on offense for MMU was Shandrieka Richardson (Sr./Atlanta, Ga.) who hit two 3-pointers for six points.
The second half the Blue Angels got the upper hand. Almost a stark contrast of the first half Illinois Tech shot 3-of-34 from the field while MMU hit 9-of-29. Richardson went 2-of-2 from 3-point range in the second, while Becky Onan (So./Grafton, Wis.) shot 4-of-8 from beyond the arc and led the Blue Angels to a 44-29 come from behind win.
Head Coach Marc Heidorf on the second half turnaround, "Becky is always telling us she is a guard. Where we had her in the 1st half vs the zone wasn't getting her good looks. So we moved her around a bit and she came through for us in a big way..."
Onan and Richardson scored 30 of the 44 points for MMU. Onan scored a game high 16 points and pulled down her collegiate high 17 rebounds. Richardson finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and a game high six assists.
"I'm proud of the focus we displayed in the 2nd half. We made some adjustments at halftime that wound up working out, but only because we were zoned in on our 'controllables'..." Coach Heidorf added, "We talked in pregame about when you're building a program like we are, wins do not need to be works of art. We just need them to grow. We grew a bit tonight."
Following today's victory, the Blue Angels will have two weeks to prepare for game against Maranatha Baptist on Sat. Jan. 23. The game against the Sabercats is set for a 2:00 pm tipoff at the Bloechl Center. Live video and live stats will be available at mtmaryathletics.com.
