MILWAUKEE -- Alverno College and Wisconsin Lutheran College were tied 31-31 at halftime, but the Inferno was outscored by 21 points in the second half for the 68-47 loss to the visiting Warriors.
The Inferno (5-13, 2-10 Northern Athletics Conference) lost its fifth-straight contest, while the Warriors (15-3, 12-0) won their ninth-straight.
The Warriors led most of the first half until a pair of Hanna Galstad (Holmen, Wis.) free throws with 3:25 to play gave the Inferno its first lead of the game, 24-23. Alverno remained in front for the rest of the half until a three-point play by the Warriors' Shavon Dillon tied up the score before intermission.
Alverno shot 52 percent (12-of-23) from the floor in the opening period, and was also perfect from the free-throw line (4-of-4). The teams were knotted at 14 rebounds apiece, one of the Inferno's weakness of late.
But Wisconsin Lutheran opened the second half with a 14-2 run to retake the lead, and remain in front for good.
In the second period, the Inferno shot just 14 percent from the floor -- 0-of-9 from the 3-point arc -- and was just 8-of-16 from the charity stripe. Additionally, the evenness on the glass became a 10-rebound deficit for the Inferno.
Alicia Kontowski (South Milwaukee, Wis.) led the Inferno with nine points, as the team was held without a double-digit scorer for the first time since January 8, 2008, also in a loss to Wisconsin Lutheran.
Kristen Speerschneider (New Franken, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) snagged eight rebound to tie a pair of Warriors for the game high.
Three Warriors reached double figures and were led by Rachel Johnson's game-high 16 points and eight rebounds.
Alverno remains at home on Saturday, hosting Benedictine University at 7 p.m.
