MILWAUKEE – Tonight at the Bloechl Center, the Mount Mary University basketball team defeated Blackburn College by a final score of 74-65. After the Beavers (2-8) outscore the Blue Angels 38-31 in the second half, MMU was still able to finish with the victory moving their record to 6-3 on the year.
The Blue Angels got off to a hot start against Blackburn on both sides of the court. Rae Grubbs (Jr./Covington, Ind.) returned to the game after missing two due to injury, and the forward instantly made her impact known.
Grubbs hit a perfect 3-of-3 from outside the three-point line including one near NBA range: 23.75 feet. The nine first-quarter points for Grubbs led her team to a 23-10 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
Throughout the first half the Blue Angels forced eight Blackburn turnovers which helped MMU push their lead out even further as they went into the locker rooms at halftime. Erica Williams (So./Bloomington, Ill.) led MMU's offense in the second quarter, and her post presence yielded seven points in the quarter along with three rebounds.
With a 47.1 team shooting percentage in the second, and no MMU turnovers, the Blue Angels were able to push the score out to 43-27 at half.
The Beavers turned things around in the third quarter. Although shooting 27.8 percent from the field as a team in the frame, Blackburn forced MMU into seven turnovers in the third quarter and were able to chip away at the MMU lead.
Blackburn continued to pressure throughout the entire fourth quarter. Hitting 9-of-21 from the floor in the fourth and holding MMU to just four field goals, the Beavers were able to cut the MMU lead down to three points with two minutes remaining.
Moments later Grubbs sixth 3-pointer of the night pushed MMU's lead back out to six. The Blue Angels went on to hit 9-of-10 fourth quarter free throws to salt away their sixth win of the season.
"It was tough to be out the last two games," said Rae Grubbs on her missed time. "...But I was very proud of my team for pulling together the wins. But it felt even better to be out there helping to get this win!"
"It was a tale of two halves tonight," said Mount Mary Head Basketball Coach Marc Heidrof. "Our vets did just enough down the stretch to keep us in front."
"I was very proud of our free throw shooting in the 4th," coach Heidiorf added. "That has been a focal point this week."
Williams led the Blue Angels with 22 points on 7-of-17 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line in addition to her nine rebounds. Grubbs went 6-of-9 from outside in her return as she finished the contest with 20 points.
Guard Brooke Uebersetzig (Jr./Greenwood, Ind.) kept her offense going with seven points and a team high eight assists. Lucy Pavelko (Jr./Muskego, Wis.) paced the defense with three steals and seven rebounds.
After a brief break, the Blue Angels will return to the Bloechl Center Tue. Jan. 8 at 6:00 pm to take on Silver Lake College. Live stats and video coverage for the game will be made available at MtMaryAthletics.com.