MILWAUKEE – The Alverno basketball team opened its season on Friday evening as the Inferno hosted the North Central (Minn.) Rams inside Reiman Gymnasium. The young Inferno squad dropped the contest by a score of 72-39.
 
Junior Grace Lupumba led the Inferno, during her Alverno debut, as she registered her first double-double of the season with 14 points and 14 rebounds to go along with a block, two steals, and an assist.
 
A pair of Inferno had eight points on the night as junior Keeshya Bellows connected on three field goals and a pair from the stripe to go along with two blocks and a steal along with an assist. Classmate Angie Reutgen tallied eight points, including a pair of three-pointers as she chipped in on the defensive side with one steal and six defensive boards.
 
Sophomore Courtney Zarda connected on a pair of long-range shots, and had one steal with five rebounds along with one assist. Senior Dom Hudson rounded out the starting five with three points with a team-best five assists, while contributing with two rebounds.
 
In reserve, freshman Lauryn Hilliard collected seven defensive boards and had one assist in her collegiate debut as she played 21 minutes. Fellow newcomer Jewel Zahradka picked up two assists in 14 minutes in her collegiate debut. Sophomore Sofia Jorgensen had three rebounds, while classmate Kiara Ellison also made her season debut and played two minutes.
 
North Central jumped out to a quick three-point lead on a long-range shot, before Bellows answered with the first points of the season for the Inferno. After a steal by Lupumba on the defensive side, she connected on a fastbreak layup to put the Inferno ahead at the 7:56 mark of the opening quarter.
 
Reutgen extended the lead for the Inferno on a jump shot off of a dish by Zarda, to put Alverno up 6-3. The next 11 points were all scored by the Rams, before Lupumba knocked down a free throw to break the run and cap off the first-quarter scoring at 14-7 in favor of North Central.
 
The Rams extended their lead to as many as 13 in the second quarter, but Zarda helped the Inferno stay tight with their guests as she connected on a pair of three balls. North Central led by 10 at 27-17 with 3:56 left in the half, before a scoreless drought by both sides was broken on a pair of free throws by the Rams with a few ticks remaining as North Central took a 29-17 lead into the intermission.
 
In the third, North Central's lead swelled to as many as 26, before the Inferno trimmed that deficit by a pair heading into the final quarter.
 
Alverno opened the fourth period with a pair of baskets by Lupumba but it was not enough to spark the comeback as the Rams led by 36 at 72-36 with just under a minute to go. Reutgen drained a long-range shot on the final Inferno possession to cap off the scoring at 72-39.
 
Alverno (0-1) will be off until Wednesday, November 17 as the Inferno head on the road for a matchup at Beloit. The Inferno return home two nights later on November 19, as Crown pays a visit to Alverno.