Ashland,WI - Heading into Wednesday evening's contest at Northland College, the Mount Mary Basketball team had never obtained a road victory over the LumberJills. Despite the hosts getting off to a hot start, Mount Mary broke through and separated from Northland for a 72-45 victory.
Northland came out on fire, knocking down three 3 point shots in the game's first four minutes and led Mount Mary 16-10 at the end of quarter number one. MMU chipped away at the lead by stringing together defensive stops and getting interior baskets, many by Joselyn Gonzales, who finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds on the night. MMU would take a nine point lead into halftime.
The second half saw the Blue Angels continue to extend their lead to as much as 29 points. The Blue Angels were cold from three point range (7-30) but made up for it with solid play on the interior and stifling second half defense which held Northland to just 17 points in the last two quarters.
All nine Blue Angels who played in the game scored and grabbed at least one offensive rebound. In addition to her double double with points and rebounds, Gonzales added 2 steals, 2 assists and one block. Brianna Mendez dropped in 15 points and added 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Deja Rivers scored in double digits with 10 points and she also grabbed 5 rebounds. Alyssen Noriega played a fine game off of the bench with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, including a buzzer beating three at the end of the 3rd quarter to sustain the momentum for the Blue Angels.
The win at Northland was the fifth victory this season for Mount Mary over a fellow NCAA opponent, this equals the program record which was set in the 2018-2019 season. Their 7th win of the season also equals their win total from the entire 22-23 campaign.
The Blue Angels (7-8) will look for a 4th win in 6 games and to bring their record to .500 when they host Maranatha Baptist on Saturday, January 6th. The game is scheduled to tip at 1 pm and all live coverage can be found on www.mtmaryathletics.com
