Blue Angels participate in their first ever NCAA conference tournament, and bring home multiple awards in 2015-16.
Now that the 2015-16 Blue Angels Basketball season is at an end, it is time to take a look at how the season progressed. Finishing 5-15 (0-2) after a first time NCAA conference tournament birth and some strong performances in February, the Blue Angels battled all season long.
It was clear that the Blue Angels had a very difficult schedule to begin the 2015-16 schedule. The always difficult rival Alverno tipped off the season, then three additional Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference teams, and UW-Oshkosh who just finished their season losing in the second round of the NCAA DIII Championship Tournament. Just finishing the early schedule was task in itself.
The Blue Angels also played Emmaus Bible College in early November which finished in an overtime victory for MMU. The game also saw season highs in points for Katie Swofford (Fr./West Allis, Wis.) and Ariel Oviedo (Jr./Shawano, Wis.) who scored 19 and 18 respectively.
After a long stretch of strong opponents, the Blue Angels shrugged off a five game losing streak against Illinois Tech. After trailing at half, the Blue Angels fought back while holding the Eagles to just eight second half points. Becky Onan (So./Grafton, Wis.) added to cause scoring 16 while also pulling down 17 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
MMU hit another stretch of tough games losing five more in a row as February began. The Blue Angels turned it around when they went to Chicago to defeat Moody Bible. The Blue Angels came out at a historic pace going 9-of-9 from the field to begin the game. Onan posted yet another double-double while scoring a season high 23 points.
Following that, the Blue Angels got another victory over Illinois Tech for their set of first back-to-back victories since the 2011-12 season.
To finish the regular season, the Blue Angels yet again did a complete flip from first half to second, this time against Andrews University. After trailing by 12 in the first half, the MMU defense turned up the intensity and held the opposition to just two third quarter points on their way to the fifth MMU win of 2015-16.
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Coach Marc Heidorf on the Blue Angels late surge, "One of the things we set out to do at the beginning of the season was with us having a conference tournament opportunity this year, 'let's not focus so much on record, let's be playing our best basketball in February, let's set ourselves up [so] that we can maybe do something that hadn't been done before since we have now a second season.'"
The Blue Angels then ended the year participating in their first ever NCAA conference tournament. After leading at half to the No. 2 ranked team in the conference, the Blue Angels gave up 35 second half points while adding 15 of their own to lose 71-51. Onan and Oviedo both posted double-doubles in the loss while Madeline Smith (Jr./Minnetonka, Minn.) scored a season high 14 points.
MMU's defense was a major improvement from a year ago. Opponents averaged 16.1 fewer points per game in 2015-16 then in 2014-15. It stands to reason that the Blue Angels held opponents to 36.3 shooting percentage this year as opposed to 42.2 percent from the field last season.
Shandrieka Richardson (Sr./Atlanta, Ga.) turned up her game in her finale season at MMU. The senior point guard averaged over double her points per game from last season with 5.7 points per game this year.
Averaging 8.0 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, 1.0 steals per game and 1.4 blocks per game in 2014-15 Becky Onan improved most of her key statistics by 40 percent or more this season. Onan finished the 2015-16 campaign with 14.1 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game, 1.7 steals per game and 3.0 blocks per game.
Two transfers that brought a lift to the Blue Angels backcourt, Jess Runge (Jr./Freedom, Wis.) and Ariel Oviedo each dished out 3.1 assists per game to start the offense. The guards also pestered the defense all season long. Runge finished on top of the Great South Athletic Conference with 2.8 steals per game while Oviedo finished third in the GSAC with 2.3 steals per game.
To complete the starting lineup, Tajah Williams (Fr./Milwaukee, Wis.) provide consistent minutes while contributing 4.1 rebounds per game and 2.5 points per game. Williams started 16 of the 20 games for the Blue Angels as she logged 26.9 minutes per game.
In their first season in the Great South Athletic Conference, the Blue Angels took home many awards. Becky Onan was a member of the GSAC All-Conference Team and Richardson was elected to the GSAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Putting the student back in student-athlete, Ariel Oviedo, Sarah Fink (Jr./Milwaukee, Wis.), Madeline Smith and Catt Bernthal (So./Pewaukee, Wis.) all were named to the GSAC All-Academic team.
Now the Blue Angels will look to begin their offseason as they get ready for 2016-17. "We've got to score better. Which is easier said than done." Coach Heidorf comments on their offseason focused, "One of the nice things is that out of all the things you need to work on if you want to improve… shooting is one of those things you can do on your own."
As the roster strengthens, and the focus increases, the Blue Angels continue to work for the future. Another season is at its end, and the MMU Basketball team can be proud of the accomplishments they achieved.