MILWAUKEE – The Mount Mary basketball team completed a busy pre-Thanksgiving slate Tuesday night, falling to North Central University (Minn.) 69-40 at the Bloechl Center.

Senior forward Ashley Leverenz (Mauston, Wis.) had another monster game for the Blue Angels, recording her first double-double of the season with 14 points and 15 rebounds to accompany an assist and a steal.

Sophomore forward Taylor Baumgart (Burlington, Wis.) led MMU scorers with 15 points on the night, while senior guard Emily Barker (Oconomowoc, Wis.) added seven rebounds.

NCU senior guard Jorie Grenell led the Rams with 26 points and six assists.

Entering Tuesday evening, the Blue Angels were coming off a tough 104-49 defeat Monday night against Milwaukee School of Engineering and the effects of back-to-back games were evident.

Whereas MMU was held scoreless for nearly four minutes, the Rams came out with some blistering shooting from the floor, surging to an early 21-2 lead from which the Angels would never recover.

NCU (3-2) would end the first half shooting 52 percent from the floor (17-for-33 shooting), including 42 percent (8-for-19) from downtown.

Mount Mary (0-5) played relatively even with the Rams through the second half after closing to within 44-22 at the break, but the Blue Angels simply couldn't overcome their slow start.

Mount Mary will take a much-needed break over the holiday weekend before returning to action next Thursday, December 5 at Lawrence University. Game time in Appleton is set for 6:00 p.m. The next home game for the Blue Angels will be Saturday, December 7 against Northland College.