Alverno College

MILWAUKEE – The Alverno basketball team opened up its final homestand of the season on Tuesday evening, hosting the Lakeland Muskies inside the Reiman Gymnasium. The Inferno hung with the Muskies throughout the majority of the game but Lakeland was able to pull away late and record the 58-36 victory.
 
Alverno was led by freshman Vorian Wilcox, who tallied 13 points on five field goals while also registering three free throws and four rebounds to go along with a pair of blocks. Sophomore Angie Reutgen was second on the team in scoring with seven points, while also grabbing six rebounds and chipping in with three assists.
 
Freshman Courtney Zarda and sophomore Keeshya Bellows each had six points and one steal apiece, while Bellows led the Inferno with eight rebounds, while Zarda added three rebounds of her own. Bellows had a season-best three blocks on the contest. Rounding out the starting lineup was senior Dom Hudson who swiped a game-high four steals and also had six rebounds to go along with her two assists on the game.
 
Senior Mikayla Tessay played 11 minutes off the bench and was 1-for-4 from the field, while junior Kay Cooper rounded out the scoring with two points on a pair of free throws. Freshman Alayna Smith played four minutes, while classmate Sofia Jorgensen played two minutes and had one defensive rebound.
 
After Lakeland scored the opening basket, Alverno scored the next two on jumpers by both Bellows and Reutgen. The Muskies scored the next six points, but Alverno responded on a jumper by Tessay to trim the Lakeland lead to two. The Muskies scored the final seven points of the quarter to lead 15-9 after the opening 10 minutes.
 
Bellows opened the second quarter with a jumper off a feed by Wilcox, but Lakeland extended its lead to 12 before Cooper sank a pair from the line to pull Alverno back within 10. A Reutgen jumper later in the period got the Inferno within nine, as did a Wilcox layup at the 2:12 mark of the second quarter. Lakeland scored one free throw with just seconds remaining to take a 10-point lead into the intermission.
 
Both teams were ice cold out of the break before Wilcox opened the scoring in the second half with a layup at the 6:23 mark of the third quarter. Wilcox followed with a pair from the free-throw line to pull the Inferno within two possessions. Alverno got as close as five points on three-pointers by both Reutgen and Zarda late in the third, but Lakeland scored the final five of the quarter to take a 46-35 lead into the final 10 minutes of play.
 
The Muskies opened up the fourth period with seven unanswered points to take an 18-point lead before Zarda broke the run with a free throw. Lakeland scored the final five of the fourth quarter to take its largest lead of the game for the 58-36 victory.
 
Alverno (0-9, 0-9 NACC) will be back home for the final game of the season on Wednesday evening, when the Inferno host the Muskies for a 7 p.m. tip inside the Reiman Gymnasium.