RIVER FOREST, Ill. -- Alverno College closed out the first half on a 17-0 run for its first lead of the game -- which it never relinquished -- and came away with a 49-38 Northern Athletics Conference victory over host Concordia University Chicago Saturday afternoon in Geiseman Gymnasium.
Both teams appeared jetlagged from the previous week's tournaments across the country early in the first half as the teams combined for just 12 points, 6-6, and 11 turnovers in the first 9 minutes of the game.
Alyssa Jensen (Cudahy, Wis.) sparked the Inferno's offense and began the fist-half run with a jumper and a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions for a 13-12 Alverno lead. Four other Inferno players would score during the final 8 minutes for the 25-12 halftime advantage, including Kristen Speerschneider's (New Franken, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) layup with just seconds remaining.
The Inferno (5-8, 2-5 NAC) forced the Cougars (4-8, 2-5) into 16 turnovers and held the hosts to just 17 percent (5-of-29) shooting in the opening half.
"Defensively our commitment to the scouting report made the difference in today's game," Alverno head coach Brad Duckworth said.
The Cougars cut the lead to five, 31-26, midway through the second half, but the Inferno promptly answered with a pair of Speerschneider free throws and an Alicia Kontowski (South Milwaukee, Wis.) layup.
Concordia cut the lead to seven on the following possession, but six-straight points by the Inferno bumped the lead up to 13 and would remain in double-digits for all but one possession the remainder of the game.
"We finally played with a lot of poise on the offensive end," commented Duckworth, "looked patient and scored, and I thought that really assisted our defense."
The Inferno shot 11-of-15 from the free-throw line, their first time over 70 percent since November, breaking a six-game streak of sub-60 percent performances.
Kontowski was 9-of-12 from the line and finished with 13 points, while Hanna Galstad (Holmen, Wis.) shot 7-of-14 from the field for a team-high 14 points. Jensen chipped in nine points and Speerschneider six.
Galstad and Kontowski both snagged a game-high seven rebounds, and had four and two steals, respectively.
Krystyna Rickett led the Cougars and all scorers with 16 points, but shot just 7-of-21 from the field.
Alverno returns to action on Tuesday night at Edgewood College in Madison, Wis. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
