LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Alverno College lost its season-opening game to host University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Saturday evening at the Holiday Inn Express Tipoff Classic.

The host Eagles (1-0) downed the Inferno (0-1), 85-45, in Saturday's second game of the classic.

Mollie Mikyska began her sophomore campaign with a double-double for the Inferno. The senior center led all scorers with 14 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the free-throw line, and also hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds.

Julie Gallegos added 12 points for Alverno, while Tessa Mersberger shot 3-of-6 from the 3-point stripe and chipped in nine points.

As a team the Inferno shot just 24 percent from the field, while the host Eagles made 47 percent of their attempts. Alverno made 32 trips to the free-throw line and made 20, compared to UWL's 8-of-9 performance.

Sierra Watrud came off the bench to lead the Eagles with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

The Inferno faces off against crosstown rival Mount Mary University in Sunday's opening game at the Holiday Inn Express Tipoff Classic at 1 p.m. The Blue Angles dropped their opener to Simpson College (Iowa) 107-26 prior to the Inferno-Eagles game.