MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Powered by a career night by freshman guard Chloey Bynum, the Milwaukee Area Technical College women's basketball team was able to end its four-game losing streak immediately following a dominant 85-52 home win on Saturday during its Parent/Family Day.

"We certainly needed to get a rebound win after a hard fought defeat to College of DuPage on Thursday," MATC head women's basketball coach Arom Murrell said. "This win feels good because they deserved to win the other day [at COD]. They came out and they handled business today."

Nobody handled their business quite like Bynum. After previously setting her career high with 18 points on Dec. 6 against St. Clair County, Bynum came out and delivered a brilliant performance that nearly ended with a triple-double. The first-year point guard totaled a career-high 23 points on 66.6 percent shooting from the field (8-for-12), including a 6-for-9 mark from three-point range.

"It's like when I miss one, I just tell myself I got the next one," Bynum said. "Then once I make one, I feel it, it's like an emotion and every time it goes in, I just keep feeling better and better."

A huge key for the Stormers ability to be on the right side of a blowout on Saturday had to do with their fast start. Typically, MATC has found itself getting into early deficits, but against the Eagles, they were the ones to take control early on.

It all started after all five of MATC's starters - Alexis Ayers, Bynum, Arlinda Roundtree, Makayla Carney, Kamille Mayshack - scored two or more points during a 15-6 run to open the game. The nine-point lead didn't last long however as Illinois Valley quickly retaliated with a 6-0 run to close out the final three minutes and change.

Feeling the momentum beginning to shift in favor of the road team to open the second quarter, MATC managed to buckle down defensively while getting a gigantic offensive boost from Bynum, who finished the quarter going 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. Throughout the final 10 minutes before halftime the Stormers managed to outscore the Eagles 28-11, which allowed them to take a 43-23 halftime lead into the break.

"We had a little lapse at the end of the first quarter, but in that second quarter they turned it back on again," Murrell said. "I think this may be literally one of the first times we played a complete game outside of that small lapse in the first quarter."

The 20-point lead at halftime was all MATC needed to get out in front as much as 35 points in the second half before coasting to a 33-point victory.

"It feels great, like, it's just been a long one coming," Bynum said of her team's win. "We really needed this. I think after the last one, we were really feeling down, so we just came back and we fought harder and we finally got the dub."

Defensively, the Stormers were aggressive all evening long. They helped force 33 turnovers by Illinois Valley, which in turn, afforded them a total of 39 points off turnovers.

Beyond the tenacious defense the Stormers were also able to dominate the glass. They finished with 63 total rebounds, 28 of which were offensive rebounds. Carney (13 rebounds), Mayshack (12), Mary-Kate Louissaint (10), and Bynum (10) each had 10 or more rebounds, including two or more offensive rebounds.

"We talked about doing better on defense, getting better rebounds, and getting more stops by staying in our assignments," Bynum said of her team's ability to claim 39 points off turnovers. "Tonight, we really focused on our defense."

STAT BOOK
Bynum led the Stormers with 23 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, four steals and one block. Sophomore Alexis Ayers added 27 points, seven steals, five assists and two rebounds. Freshman Arlinda Roundtree contributed 15 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Makayla Carney recorded a double-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds (seven offensive rebounds), six steals, four blocks and three assists. Freshman Kamille Mayshack tallied 12 rebounds (five offensive rebounds), which was two more boards than freshman teammate Mary-Kate Louissaint .

UP NEXT
MATC (8-16) will host Bryant & Stratton on Feb. 11 at 5 p.m. for its Black History Recognition Game.