Milwaukee, WI- Coming off of a season opening loss to Rockford, the Mount Mary Blue Angel basketball team hosted the Red Devils of Eureka on Friday evening. MMU built a ten point lead at half, found their groove offensively in the second half and cruised to a decisive 68-36 win over Eureka.
In the game's first quarter, Eureka's aggressive changing defenses prevented the Blue Angels from getting much going on offense. Mount Mary would withstand Eureka's initial run and grind to a one point lead at the end of the first quarter. Then things began to open up for MMU. While the Blue Angels were cold from the three point line in the first two quarters, they hit 15 of 20 free throws in half number one. This drastic improvement from game one helped MMU stake a lead at the half.
The Blue Angels came out energinzed in the second half and the game was never in doubt from that point forward. MMU connected on six second half 3s, Deja Rivers found the groove offensively and Mount Mary pulled away for the 32 point victory.
Coming off 13 points in her collegiate debut, Vanessa Diaz set another young career high as she dropped in 20 points for Mount Mary. She finished 5-11 from the three point line and added three rebounds and three assists. Deja Rivers looked like the all-conference player she was a season ago, with 17 points, 7 rebounds and three assists. The third Blue Angel in double figures was first year player Sanai Ballard, who tallied 12 points in 21 minutes of action and added three rebounds.
MMU's rebounding was drastically improved from Wednesday's contest, Rivers, India Lucas, and Joselyn Gonzales each grabbed seven boards and the Blue Angels outrebounded Eureka by 6. Gonzales also had 9 points and Lucas provided her usual strong floor game with four assists.
The Blue Angels (1-1) busy schedule continues Tuesday, as they will hit the road for the first time on the young season. Mount Mary will travel to Dubuque, Iowa on November 14th for a 4 pm contest against Emmaus Bible College. All live coverage can be found here on www.mtmaryathletics.com
