MILWAUKEE – The Mount Mary University basketball team took home their fourth win of the season today at the Bloechl Center. The Blue Angels (4-9) defeated the visiting Andrews University Cardinals (6-7) by a final score of 64-34 in MMU's biggest victory of the season.
After a very close and hard fought two-point victory just five days earlier, the Blue Angels effectively grabbed the victory in the first quarter of play in today's contest. Before the first shot was made by either team, the Cardinals leading scorer, Jayde Broussard, got her second foul and was immediately delegated to the bench.
The Blue Angels then turned the two-minute scoring drought into a 20-2 run which left the Cardinals scrambling for their lone made field goal of the quarter with 1:21 remaining. That was only part of the story, as Blue Angel Erica Williams (Fr./Bloomington, Ill.) dominated the glass yet again in the first.
The freshman forward ripped away ten rebounds in the first quarter and scored eight points as a result. The Blue Angels as a team shot 9-of-18 from the field in the frame, while Williams was responsible for hitting 4-of-5 of those field goals.
MMU forced the Cardinals to take the tough shot in the second quarter as well. AU hit 4-of-14 from the field as their opponent piled on 15 more points to expand the lead to 35-10 at halftime.
The Cardinals continued to play hard during the second half. Coming out to begin the third quarter, AU quickly scored the first four points in an effort to nip away the sizable lead. The Blue Angels immediately answered back with an 8-2 run which dashed the comeback effort from the Cardinals.
Both teams posted 14 points in the third, but the Blue Angels shot an effective 6-of-13 from the field in the final quarter to add to the lead and come away with their biggest win of the season at 64-34.
"Great focus from our players today led to a nice win," said Mount Mary Head Basketball Coach Marc Heidorf. "It is an interesting challenge to play a team back-to-back like that. We made some pretty big adjustments in only two days of preparation and the only reason they worked was because of the execution of the entire team."
Erica Williams led the Blue Angels on offense shooting 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-6 from the free throw line for 17 points. Williams tied her collegiate record for rebounds in a game with 18 today against the Cardinals for her third double-double of the season.
Teammate Becky Onan (Sr./Grafton, Wis.) scored 14 points for the Blue Angels and also dished out a team high four assists. The lone senior also pulled down seven rebounds and added to her Association of Division III Independents leading block total with three more today.
Lucy Pavelko (So./Muskego, Wis.) tied her season high in scoring as she added 10 points for the Blue Angels. Pavelko proved to be a pest on defense leading her team with a pair of steals.
The Blue Angels will have the week to prepare for their next contest on Fri. Jan. 26 when MMU will host Illinois Tech. The two teams will get things started at 6:00 pm. As for all home games, live stats and video will be available at mtmaryathletics.com.
