MILWAUKEE -- The Alverno College women's basketball team lost to visiting Aurora University, 63-54, tonight at Reiman Gymnasium in a Northern Athletics Conference game.

The loss is the Inferno's third straight, bringing their record to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the NAC. Aurora, the preseason favorite to win the NAC South, picks up their first win in conference (1-3 NAC) and are also 2-5 overall.

"We came out flat and we played terrible in the last minute and a half," Alverno head coach Brad Duckworth said. "I told the team on Saturday that there's one team that can beat us, and that's us. And we figured out a way to do that tonight."

The Inferno fell behind 5-0, before scoring six points in 30 seconds to take a 6-5 lead. The Spartans then outscored them 15-0 the next 10 minutes to take a 14 point lead.

Alverno then cut the lead to nine points multiple times in the first half, including a pair of free throws at the end of the half for the 33-24 deficit at intermission. The Inferno shot only 35.5 percent from the field in the half and committed 17 of their 27 turnovers in the period.

"We need a better first half," Duckworth said. "I said this after the CUW game on Saturday, that we have played one good first half all season (at Wisconsin Lutheran) and took the South champs to the wire. We're down 10 at half, and we work so hard to get back in the game it makes our anxiety level so high."

Alverno came to play in the second half, cutting Aurora's lead to two just 4 minutes into the period. Senior Lisa Sorgi (Milwaukee, Wis./Greenfield) and junior Gabby Allen (Milwaukee, Wis./Bay View) scored the Inferno's first 23 points of the period giving the Alverno just their second lead of the game at 49-47 with 6:30 left to play.

"Gabby and Lisa played a good second half, but where were they in the first 20 minutes," Duckworth said. "We need a better first half."

Allen had a game-high 20 points, on her best shooting game of the season, going 9-of-14 from the floor. Sorgi, who had only two points at the half, finished with 17 on an 8-of-17 performance and fouled out of the game with less than 3 minutes to play on an offensive foul.

Aurora would then outscore the Inferno 16-5 down the stretch for the 63-54 final.

Jen Robinson (Sandwich, Ill.) was one of four Spartans in double-figures with a team-high 14 points.

Freshman center Rachel Diedrich (Two Rivers, Wis.) snagged a team-high seven rebounds for the Inferno and had seven points to go along with two steals and two blocks defensively.

Junior guard Shataya McComb (Kingston, N.Y.) scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds, but also fouled out of the game.

"Shataya gave us a spark," Duckworth said. "But a couple of charge calls took her out of the game mentally."

For just the second time all season the Inferno won the rebounding battle, 37-34, and allowed Aurora just five offensive rebounds.

The Inferno host Dominican University on Thursday at 7 p.m. in a NAC game, and then host Mount Mary College on Saturday at 2 p.m. in a nonconference tilt. The Inferno swept the two upcoming teams last season, and will look to snap their skid in the pair of contests.