MILWAUKEE – The Mount Mary University basketball team tallied their seventh win of the season tonight at the Bloechl Center with a 64-60 victory over Silver Lake College (4-11). The Blue Angels (7-3) trailed by two after the first half, but grabbed the win after their high-scoring third quarter. The victory marks the first time in program history that the Blue Angels hit a four-game winning streak.
Both teams traded buckets early at the Bloechl Center. The Lakers took a brief lead to open the game, but a 3-point shot from the Blue Angels gave MMU the lead. Although the only three-pointer of the quarter for the Blue Angels, the lead gained by the shot was analogous to the overall game: the relatively even game swayed in favor of the active 3-point threat.
The Lakers took a 14-12 lead after the first quarter, hitting just one more field goal than the Blue Angels. SLC hit one more field goal than MMU in the second quarter, but the Blue Angels hit 4-of-9 from outside the three-point arc in the quarter to keep the SLC lead to 28-26 at halftime.
The tables flipped in the third quarter. Both teams came out of their respective locker rooms looking to pick up the game's pace on offense. The Blue Angels grabbed the advantage during that momentuem shift. The Blue Angels hit 6-of-18 from the field in the third quarter in contrast to SLC's 4-of-16.
One of the major differences in the third was the outside shooting of Melissa Golo (Fr./Boise, Idaho). Golo started the frame off hitting a long distance three-pointer from the extended wing, then hit two more in the frame from nearly the same area. Golo officially hit 3-of-4 from outside in the quarter as her team took a 44-40 lead after the third.
In the final quarter, the Lakers made their final push and grabbed a 47-46 lead near the five-minute mark. Fittingly, the Blue Angels quickly recaptured the lead after Golo hit another 3-pointer from the same sweet-spot from earlier.
After that deep-shot from Golo, the Blue Angels would not surrender the lead again. The Lakers hit 11-of-16 from the free throw line in the final quarter, and were able to score 20 overall points in the frame, but the Blue Angels kept pace with 20 points of their own on 3-of-8 from outside.
"Mel Golo put us on her back in the third," said Mount Mary Head Basketball Coach Marc Heidorf. "We got some good work from Megan [Johnson] on both sides of the ball, and our second unit was solid, as evidenced by a season high in bench scoring."
Golo led the offense for the Blue Angels with 16 points on 5-of-6 from three-point range and seven rebounds. Teammate Erica Williams (So./Bloomington, Ill.) recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 16 rebounds.
In her first game after transferring, Megan Johnson (Fr./Waukesha, Wis.) came off the bench and scored 10 points with two rebounds and two assists; Johnson helped the Blue Angels bench score 19 points. Fellow guard Brooke Uebersetzig (Jr./Greenwood, Ind.) scored 10 points as well with six rebounds and three assists.
The Blue Angels will head to Berrien Springs, Mich. on for a rematch against Andrews University on Thu. Jan. 10. The contest is scheduled for 5:00 pm Central Standard Time, visit AU's YouTube Channel closer to game time and MtMaryAthletics.com for final scores and news.