MILWAUKEE -- Alverno College made 22-of-24 free throws and 7-of-12 3-pointers en route to a 73-70 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference victory over three-time defending champion Wisconsin Lutheran College tonight in Reiman Gymnasium.

The Inferno victory snapped the visiting Warriors' 28-game win streak versus conference opponents and 5-game win streak against the Inferno.

Trailing by one with under 2 minutes to play, Devon Gorman was fouled and sank both free throws to put Alverno up 69-68. Wisconsin Lutheran missed a pair of 3-point attempts on the next possession and was forced to send the Inferno back to the free-throw line with 24 seconds left.

Anna Boteva made both throws for the three-point Alverno lead, but the Warriors' Melissa Klem scored to pull WLC back within one. Boteva was again fouled and completed her perfect 6-for-6 night from the foul line to push the spread back to three with 10.6 remaining.

WLC's final 3-point attempt was off the mark as the Inferno (3-1, 2-1 NACC) pulled out the upset win over the preseason conference favorite.

"We made our free throws tonight, that was the difference," Alverno Head Coach Brad Duckworth commented when asked the difference tonight compared to last week's loss at Benedictine University where the Inferno made just 18-of-28.

"We also executed our game plan fantastically. It was a fantastic win for our program tonight."

In addition to Boteva, Jamie Hoernke was 3-for-3 and Kristen Speerschneider was 2-for-2. Gorman, the Inferno's leading scorer with 19 points, had the only two free-throw misses, but was an outstanding 11-of-13 from the line.

Alverno led by 13 late in the first half before a 6-0 WLC run closed out the half for the 44-37 score at intermission. The Warriors (1-3, 0-1) continued the run by adding the first 11 points of the second period to go ahead 48-44.

A Speerschneider 3-pointer was the Inferno's first score in nearly 6 minutes, but the Warriors increased the lead to 13 and looked like they would control the game's final 11 minutes.

Rookie forward Katie Bartlett had other plans, however, and sparked an Inferno run with back-to-back baskets, and a Gorman 3-pointer made it a six-point game.

The Inferno continued to chip away and an Ashley Berry jumper at the 2-minute mark gave the home team its first lead since the beginning of the half. It would be the Inferno's final field goal, but Gorman and Boteva would finish off the Warriors at the free-throw line.

Boteva added 15 points, while Berry and Speerschneider had 12. Gorman led the team with eight rebounds to help the Inferno's slight 38-37 edge on the glass.

WLC's Melanie Laete shot 11-of-14 from the field for a game-high 26 points, while Kristen Schultz added 13 points and game-highs of 13 rebounds and six blocks.

Alverno continues NACC play with a road game at Concordia University Chicago on Wednesday at 7 p.m.