MILWAUKEE – Tonight at the Bloechl Center, visiting Alverno College defeated the Blue Angels by a final score of 52-29. The win for the Inferno moves them to 1-2 on the young season while MMU now sits at 0-4.
The Inferno crept out to an early 6-2 lead to open things up. The Blue Angels cut away when Rae Grubbs (So./Covington, Ind.) slashed through the paint for a layup turning the score to 6-4 with 5:48 left to go in the first. Making the most of their opportunities, Alverno shot 8-of-18 from the floor to carry the early lead out to 20-4 to end the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Blue Angels clamped down on defense. MMU held the Inferno to seven points in the frame while also limiting the hot shooting Inferno to just 3-of-18 from the field in that time. Although limiting the opponent to seven in the quarter, the Blue Angels went into halftime trailing 27-8.
Senior Becky Onan (Grafton, Wis.) came out of the locker-room at halftime revitalized and determined. Onan started the second half going on a 7-2 run against the Inferno. The senior forward went on to score all 10 points in the quarter for the Blue Angels, but the Inferno added 16 as a team to expand the overall lead.
The Blue Angels turned on the defense in the final frame. The Blue Angels limited their opponent to just nine points while forcing seven Inferno turnovers. MMU scored 11 points of their own chipping away at the deficit, but the Inferno held on for the 52-29 victory.
"Credit to Alverno, they came away with a lot of 50/50 balls because they were more aggressive, said Mount Mary Head Basketball Coach Marc Heidorf. "Offensively clearly we are struggling. The kids are getting shots that we want, we need to work on practicing those shots at game speeds. We are on the right track, but the speed of that process can be frustrating."
Becky Onan led the Blue Angels with 16 points, three blocks and two steals while also adding nine rebounds. Teammate Erica Williams (Fr./Bloomington, Ill.) continued to rip down the boards as she led MMU with 11 rebounds against the Inferno.
Following tonight's game, the Blue Angels will have a quick turnaround as they head to Watertown, Wis. on Thu. Nov. 30 to take on their Association of Division III Independents rival Maranatha Baptist University. The contest on Thursday night will be the Sabercats first game of the season and the eighth meeting between the schools since the Blue Angels joined the NCAA. Tipoff is scheduled 7:00 pm and will have live stats and video available at mtmaryathletics.com.
