MILWAUKEE – This evening at the Bloechl Center, the visiting Blackburn College Beavers (2-0) defeated the Mount Mary University basketball team by a final score of 65-54. The Blue Angels led after the first quarter, but the Beavers outscored MMU 16-6 in the second on their way to an 11-point victory.
Melissa Golo (So./Boise, Idaho) led the Blue Angels offense against the Beavers. The young guard hit 4-of-9 from outside and led her team from the field on her way to 16 points. Golo also spread the ball around with three assists.
Two other Blue Angels finished the night with double-digits in scoring. Guards Megan Johnson (Jr./Waukesha, Wis.) and Rae Grubbs (Sr./Covington, Ind.) hit from outside as they were major contributors to the offense. Johnson added 12 points while Grubbs landed four 3-pointers on her way to 14 points. The two guards also combined for eight assists.
Erica Williams (Jr./Bloomington, Ill.) and Zyah Burnett (Jr./Indianapolis, Ind.) led MMU on the boards. Williams pulled in 14 rebounds with 11 coming from the defensive end. Burnett had eight rebounds to add to the team's 43 total rebounds on the night.
After the Beavers took the first lead of the game, the Blue Angels came right back and scored six unanswered points to take a 6-2 lead. Blackburn then held MMU off the scoreboard for the next five minutes of play as they took a 10-6 lead. Rae Grubbs hit a 3-pointer at 2:25 that started MMU's turn around. After the shot, MMU would go on to take the opening frame 12-10.
Blackburn tied the game on their second possession of the second quarter. Once taking a 16-14 lead three minutes into the frame, the Beavers would never surrender the lead thereafter. MMU held their opponent to 30.8 percent from the field shooting, but the Beavers hit 7-of-8 from the free throw line to maintain the lead to halftime.
The Blue Angels had their highest offensive output of the night in the third quarter scoring a combined 22 points as a team. Melissa Golo led that late charge scoring eight of those 22 points. On the other side of the court, the Beavers hit 8-of-19 from the field. MMU was 9-of-18 in the quarter, but the Beavers hit 9-of-11 from the free throw line and did not commit a turnover in the entire frame as they added three more points two their lead.
In the fourth quarter, the two teams continued to trade baskets back-and-forth. The Blue Angels held their opponent to shooting 36 percent from the field, but again Blackburn hit from the free throw line making 5-of-6 attempts. MMU cut the BC lead down to seven with ninety seconds left in the contest, but the Beavers would extend their lead at the free throw line on their way to a 65-54 victory.
The Blue Angels return to action next Fri. Nov. 15 at the Bloechl Center when MMU takes on North Central University. The Rams and Blue Angels are set to tip things off at 6:00 pm Friday. Live stats and streaming will be available at MtMaryAthletics.com.
