RIVER FOREST, Ill. -- Travel issues postponed Wednesday night's tipoff between Alverno College and host Concordia University Chicago by 30 minutes, and fans in attendance had to wait for the completion of three overtime periods for the overdue result--a 95-91 edge in the Inferno's favor.

The host Cougars opened the game with an 11-0 lead, and after the Inferno fought back to go ahead 16-14, the Cougars answered with a 15-0 run and took a 31-17 lead into halftime.

Alverno (4-1, 3-1 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference) struggled with Concordia's zone defense and fired up 16 3-pointers in the opening period, making just two. The visitors would finish the game 7-of-32 from long range for the most 3-point attempts in school history.

The Cougars (0-4, 0-3 NACC) scored the first four points of the second half and extended their lead to a game-high 18 points, but the Inferno put on the full-court pressure which forced numerous Cougar turnovers that led to easy fast-break scores for the Inferno. Thirty-six Cougar miscues were forced, as the Inferno won the turnover battle by 14.

Jamie Hoernke scored a layup with 7 minutes, 30 seconds left in regulation to cut the lead four, and after hauling in one of her game-high 14 rebounds, was fouled a sank a pair of free throws as the lead was down to a single basket.

Minutes later, an Anna Boteva 3-poineter would tie the game at 51 apiece, but the Inferno couldn't pull ahead of the Cougars the remainder of regulation.

The Cougars led 65-62 with 18 seconds left as the Inferno went the length of the court and Devon Gorman was fouled and made 1-of-2 free throws. With the Inferno pressure on, Hoernke forced a jump ball with the possession in the favor of the Inferno. Gorman scored the game-tying layup with under 8 seconds to go and the Cougars were unable to get the ball across the mid-court line as the game went to the first overtime.

Overtime looked bleak for Alverno as Concordia made back-to-back 3s in the opening minute for a six-point lead. Yet the visitors made 5-of-6 free throws and held the Cougars to just two more points for the 73-70 Cougar advantage with just under a minute to play in overtime.

Senior point guard Kristen Speerschneider made one of her career-high six 3-pointers on the next possession to tie the game and neither team could pull ahead in the final seconds forcing a second overtime period.

This time Alverno took the first lead, 76-73, on three Hoernke free throws, but Concordia battled back and controlled the rest of the period for an 83-79 lead with 11 seconds remaining.

Gorman nailed a jumper with 6.4 seconds left to cut the lead to two, but the Cougars made the first of two free throws with five ticks left to push it back to three. The second was off the mark and Hoernke snagged the rebound and got it to her point guard. Speerschneider heaved up and sank a half-court shot at the buzzer that sent the game to a third extra period.

The heroics of Speerschneider swayed the momentum in favor of the Inferno, and Gorman finished a three-point play for a lead the team wouldn't relinquish. Speerschneider made the final two free throws with 13 seconds left to put Alverno up four and seal the road victory.

Hoernke and Speerschneider posted career highs with 26 points apiece, while Gorman became only the second player in Alverno history to post at least 30 points, just two shy of the single-game record of 32 set by Emily Zawikowski on Feb. 16, 2002.

Alverno made 28-of-39 free throws on the night, and bested the former team record--done on two occasions--by one. Concordia was 29-of-41 from the line, and was led in scoring by Jessica Genke's 29 and April Broska's 28.

The Inferno returns home for a NACC contest versus Milwaukee School of Engineering on Saturday at 7 p.m.