MILWAUKEE – The Mount Mary University basketball team lost to the visiting Northland College Lumberjills at the Bloechl Center tonight. The Blue Angels (3-3) held the Lumberjills scoreless for the first five minutes of play, but Northland got hot from outside to move their record to 3-2 on the season.
The Blue Angels demonstrated the tenacity of their defense in the first quarter. After holding NC off the scoreboard until the 4:22 mark, the Lumberjills began to slowly chip into the now 7-2 lead the Blue Angels enjoyed.
MMU held their opponent to 15.0 percent from the field in the opening frame while also triggering eight Northland turnovers. But with 1:35 to go in the first quarter, the Lumberjills attacked the lane as NC's Emily Wagner got the go-ahead layup making the score 11-10.
31 seconds into the second quarter, MMU's leading scorer and post-presence, Erica Williams (So./Bloomington, Ill.), was called for her third foul in the game. The foul forced Mount Mary Basketball Coach Marc Heidorf to sit Williams for the foreseeable future.
The Lumberjills slowly pushed out their lead. Hitting 31 percent from the field in the second quarter and going 3-of-8 from outside, NC took a 28-18 lead as the teams went into the locker rooms at halftime.
The second half started with the Blue Angels on the attack. Getting the early offense, and hitting 8-of-19 from the field, MMU was able to cut into NC's lead. With 3:10 on the scoreboard, Ka'Riah Simmons (Fr./Genesee, Mich.) hit an inside jumper to cut Northland's lead to 35-31.
After forcing three Northland turnovers and limiting the Lumberjills to shooting 3-of-20 in the third quarter, MMU was able to outscore their opponent 20-15. That surge led to MMU cutting into the deficit and finishing the frame trailing 43-38.
MMU cut the lead to just one near the 9-minute mark after Brooke Uebersetzig (Jr./Greenwood, Ind.) knocked down a pair of free throws. After the Lumberjills slowly stretched their lead back out to 10, the Blue Angels cut that lead to 54-50 with three minutes left to go in the game.
NC hit a pair of 3-pointers and hit 5-of-8 from the free throw line to push the lead out and grab the win.
Melissa Golo (Fr./Boise, Idaho) led the Blue Angels offense hitting 6-of-13 from the field for 15 points.
Despite fighting through early foul-trouble, Erica Williams finished the contest with 12 points, five rebounds and three steals. Guard Brooke Uebersetzig pulled in nine rebounds and dished out six assists to help her team's offense.
The Blue Angels will return to the court Tue, Dec. 4 when MMU and Northland will rematch, but this time at Berg Gymnasium in Stevens Point, Wis. Live stats for the contest will be available for the 6:00 pm contest. Links can be found at MtMaryAthletics.com.
