BERRIEN SPRINGS, Mich. – The Mount Mary University basketball team finished their regular season with a 41-34 come-from-behind win against host Andrews University. The win gives the Blue Angels a 5-14 record while making the Cardinals 7-15.
The game was a tale of two halves for the Blue Angels. The opening 20 minutes of the contest provide the Blue Angels with just 14 points against the Cardinals 26. The shots did not drop as MMU shot 6-of-21 from the field to begin the game against 11-of-29 from Andrews.
Coach Marc Heidorf explained, "Basketball is a funny game. We lost a game exactly like this one just last night. We finished the first half giving up an 11-0 run. You can imagine the energy level at halftime."
A rush came over the Blue Angels as they rallied for the second half on defense. After giving up 26 in the first half, MMU completely turned around, and held Andrews to eight second half points as the Cardinals shot 3-of-29 from the field in the remaining 20 minutes.
Sophomore forward Becky Onan (Grafton, Wis.) on the "U-turn" second half, "I feel like now at the end of the season everyone is kind of worn out, but we were able to get together as a team at half and we kicked it into gear in the second."
Onan added her seventh double-double of the season with a team leading 13 points and 10 rebounds. Teammate Shandrieka Richardson (Sr./Atlanta, Ga.) scored 12 points off of 4-of-8 from 3-point territory along with three assists for her final NCAA regular season game.
Ariel Oviedo (Jr./Shawano, Wis.) filled out the stat-sheet with nine points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block.
After seeing his players rejuvenated in the second half, coach Heidorf added, "The exciting part for me was the players talked more during timeouts. They chose what defense they thought would work, called plays, and executed their plan."
Following their regular season finale, the Blue Angels will prepare for their first ever NCAA conference tournament. Times and seeding are still to be determined for the Great South Athletic Conference tournament beginning on Friday in Atlanta, Ga. Stay tuned to mtmaryathletics.com for updates in the Blue Angels postseason schedule.
