RIVER FOREST, Ill. -- The Alverno College women's basketball team defeated host Concordia University Chicago, 60-47, to capture their Northern Athletics Conference opener.
Alverno (2-1, 1-0 NAC) trailed 28-14 with 6:19 left to play in the first half, but their defense would keep them in the game, holding Concordia Chicago to just one field goal the remainder of the half cutting the deficit to eight points, 30-22, going into the break.
Alverno lost starting point guard Gabby Allen (Milwaukee, Wis./Bayview) for the second half with an injury.
The Inferno's defense would again lead the way in the second half as they would hold the Cougars without a field goal for more than eight minutes, scoring only on a pair a free throws during that stretch. At the 11:42 mark, CUC tied the game at 34-34, but the Inferno would go on an 8-0 run to take a 42-34 lead, and keep the lead the remainder of the game.
Lisa Sorgi (Milwaukee, Wis./Greenfield) would lead both ends of the floor with game-highs in steals with six and scoring with 23 points. Her 9-of-10 free throw shooting down the stretch would keep Alverno in the lead, and capture the NAC victory. Sorgi also chipped in five assists and five rebounds.
Also leading Alverno in scoring, who as a team shot 50 percent in the second half, was Katie Salentine (Muskego, Wis.) with 17, on a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, and Bre Miller (Racine, Wis./Horlick) with nine.
Joslyn Binkowski (Greenfield, Wis.) had a game-high 10 rebounds, and also a game-high seven assists in the victory. Binkowski is now just two assists away from becoming the all-time assist leader at Alverno.
The victory marks a pair of firsts for the Inferno basketball program. This was the first victory over Concordia Chicago in 12 attempts, and the first time Alverno has had a winning record in conference play.
Miller tied the school's all-time scoring record at 697, and will look to become the all-time leading scorer in school history this week versus Wisconsin Lutheran College on Wednesday, Dec. 3. Alverno will host WLC at Reiman Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 7:00pm.
