PLYMOUTH, Wis. – The Alverno basketball team concluded its two-game conference road trip with a loss to the Lakeland Muskies at the Woltzen Field House by the score of 61-34.
 
The Inferno were led by freshman Lauryn Hilliard, who tallied a new season-high with 14 points on the night, connecting on seven field goals, while securing four rebounds. Junior Grace Lupumba netted six points, and secured a team-high seven rebounds. Also tied for the team lead in rebounds were senior Dom Hudson and freshman Jewel Zahradka.
 
Sophomore Kiara Ellison picked up two points to go along with one rebound. Hudson secured three points, while Zahradka tallied a bucket. Sophomore Courtney Zarda notched three points and pulled down three rebounds, while junior Angie Reutgen had two points and a team-best, and career-high, eight assists. Freshman Morgan Golabowski tallied two points on 1-of-4 shooting.
 
Making her season debut was senior Mikayla Tessay, and secured one carom. Sophomore Sofia Jorgensen pulled down four rebounds as the Inferno corralled 40 boards on the night. Lupumba also had three of Alverno's five blocks on the night, with Golabowski picking up the other two, while Lupumba also led Alverno with a pair of steals.
 
The Muskies jumped ahead by an early 2-0 score before Lupumba evened the score. The Muskies led by as many as nine before Hilliard connected on a layup off of a dish by Reutgen, followed by a jumper from Hilliard to close out the quarter and trim the deficit to 13-8.
 
As play continued into the second quarter, Lakeland scored the first eight points before Hilliard put an end to the run on a layup off another feed from Reutgen. The Muskies closed out the half on a six-point run to take a 27-10 lead into the halftime break.
 
Reutgen opened the scoring for the Inferno in the second half after Lakeland scored the opening seven points of the period. Lupumba and Zahradka both scored late in the frame as the Inferno trailed by 28.
 
After the first three points of the fourth quarter were scored by Lakeland, Hudson stepped back for a three-pointer off of another feed by Reutgen. Alverno trailed by 34 before Hilliard connected on back-to-back layups, followed by a Muskie free throw, and another layup by Hilliard. Zarda stepped back for a three in the waning minutes but the Muskies continued to answer back. Ellison and Golabowski picked up late baskets in the final 90 seconds to close out the scoring with Lakeland registering the 27-point win.
 
Alverno (1-6, 0-3 NACC) returns home on Saturday, as the Inferno will host the Edgewood Eagles at 7 p.m. from inside the Reiman Gymnasium. The matchup Saturday will kick off a two-game homestand for Alverno, which wraps up its home slate in 2021 on Tuesday, December 14 against non-conference Lawrence.