RIVER FOREST, Ill. – The Alverno basketball team returned to the Chicagoland area for a contest for the first time since February 5, 2020, but the Inferno were unable to get a win as the host Concordia Chicago Cougars raced by the Inferno for a 60-24 win inside the Geiseman Gymnasium.
 
Alverno was led by junior Grace Lupumba, who was one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards. Junior Angie Reutgen collected six points for the Inferno to go along with two rebounds. Freshman Lauryn Hilliard had six points of her own and added three rebounds for the Inferno as she collected two shots from the field and two from the stripe.
 
Sophomore Courtney Zarda had one basket and one rebound for Alverno to cap off the scoring. Lupumba had a team-best four blocks, while the Inferno as a team had 14 steals led by four from freshman Morgan Golabowski. Lupumba was second on the team with three steals.
 
Alverno struggled in the first half as the Cougars led 23-2 after the opening quarter, and 40-6 at the halftime break. The Inferno potted seven points in the third quarter to Concordia Chicago's 12, as Alverno was down 52-13 after 30 minutes of play.
 
In the fourth quarter the Inferno outscored their hosts by an 11-8 margin, as Lupumba led the way with seven points and Reutgen tallied four points to help the Alverno offense.
 
Alverno (1-5, 0-2 NACC) will be on the road once again as the Inferno pay a visit to the Lakeland Muskies at 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening at the Woltzen Gymnasium.