MILWAUKEE – A trio from Alverno's basketball team recorded double-figures as the Inferno fell in their season opener by the score of 80-66 to Mount Mary inside Reiman Gymnasium.

Leading the way for Alverno was senior Mackenzie Mathies, who tallied a game-high 23 points for the Inferno, while classmate Karli Selear had 16 points and senior Justice Hawkins dropped 12 points in her Inferno debut. Mathies was two rebounds shy of a double-double as she along with senior classmate Dani Hood each registered eight rebounds apiece.

Hood led Alverno with five assists, while Selear led the Inferno with four steals from their position, while Mathies, senior Kendra Patterson and sophomore Kailey Kennow each picked up a block in the game. The Inferno limited their turnovers with just eight on the night to Mount Mary's 20 on the evening.

Patterson added eight points, while Hood notched five points to round out Alverno's starting five. Kennow connected on her first Alverno basket in her Inferno debut, while sophomore Sara Redlin had three rebounds in 11 minutes on the court.

Mathies got Alverno's season started with a bang as she knocked down a three-pointer, which was answered by a three-ball from Mount Mary. Patterson and Hawkins each gave Alverno slim two-point leads before the Blue Angels were able to tie the game on both occasions. After Mathies connected on two free throws, Mount Mary went on a 12-point run to open a 19-9 lead, Selear connected on two free throws to end the run and send the game into the second quarter.

Hawkins opened the second period with a layup to trim the deficit to six before Mathies drilled a three-pointer to pull Alverno back within one possession. Mount Mary responded with a pair of three-pointers, before Patterson connected on back-to-back layups to make it 25-20 in favor of Mount Mary.

After the two sides exchanged baskets Selear connected on a jumper followed by another jumper from Mathies to pull Alverno within one in the closing two minutes of the opening half. Mount Mary was able to score a pair of layups in the final 63 seconds to take a 33-28 lead into the intermission.

Mount Mary jumped out of the gate in the second half with an 11-4 run before Selear connected on a free throw to keep Alverno within 11 points at 44-33. Hawkins later made a layup to make it 44-35, before Selear knocked down a pair from the stripe and connected on a three-pointer to get Alverno within four at 44-40. However, it was Mount Mary to close the period on an 8-4 run to take an eight-point lead into the fourth.

The Blue Angels connected on four free throws to open the scoring in the final stanza of regulation before Selear converted a layup to get Alverno within 10, before knocking down a three-pointer to get the Inferno within seven at 56-49. A 13-6 run by Mount Mary followed as the Blue Angels took a 14-point lead at 69-55 with 4:42 left in the game.

Alverno scored the next five points, but Mount Mary answered back with an 11-6 run to close out the scoring as the Blue Angels pulled away late for the 80-66 win.

Alverno (0-1) will look to bounce back next Friday, when the team returns home for a non-conference tilt against Crown (Minn.) for a 7 p.m. start inside the Reiman Gymnasium.