MILWAUKEE – The Alverno basketball team won the inaugural "What Made You Smile Today Kid" Classic in remembrance of former Inferno assistant coach and Mount Mary head coach, Marc Heidorf, who lost his lengthy battle with cancer earlier this year. The Inferno ultimately came out on top of the Blue Angels by the score of 73-61 at the Bloechl Center.
A trio of Inferno reached double figures on the night, with junior
Mya Roberts leading the way with 21 points, including five three-pointers, which places her tied 14th on the single-game record, three shy of the program record of eight set by
Sara Redlin '20 during the 2019-20 season on February 5 at Illinois Tech.
In addition to Roberts' 21 points, freshman
Adrianna Sapp had 11 points and a team-leading 12 rebounds, while classmate
Riley Spencer picked up 10 points, including a pair from beyond the arc. Sophomore
Jewel Zahradka had nine rebounds and four points, while junior
Victoria Parra had 10 rebounds and seven points.
Freshmen
Camiria Sardin and
Mariah Smith each had six points, with Sardin collecting five rebounds. Sophomore
Olivia Daugherty had four points, while freshmen
Kyla Jamerson and
Morgan Whitten each had a bucket apiece.
As a team, the Inferno collected 53 rebounds, which is the most for an Inferno team since the 2015-16 season, when the Inferno ripped down 55 boards against the Muskies of Lakeland on February 13 of that season.
Alverno had a season-best 26 field goals and shot a year-best 37.7% from the floor, while also collecting a season-best nine three-pointers for a 34.6% mark from beyond the arc. The Inferno also had 14 assists, with six coming from Roberts, and 15 steals, led by Parra and Sardin with three each, to go along with a season-best three blocks on the evening.
The Inferno opened the game with a bang as Roberts knocked down a three-ball on the opening possession before a layup by Mount Mary was answered by another three-pointer by Spencer to put the Inferno up by four. After the Blue Angels tied the score at seven, Parra converted a fast-break layup to give the Inferno the lead once again.
Whitten followed with a jumper, while Daugherty also got in on the scoring action before Parra connected on a three-pointer, followed by another long-range shot by Roberts to put Alverno up, 19-9. Mount Mary closed out the quarter with four unanswered as it was 19-13 after the opening period.
The Blue Angels attempted to close the gap, but the Inferno had answers for many of the Mount Mary attempts in the second quarter. Mount Mary, did however, close out the final three minutes of the half on an 11-3 run and trailed the Inferno by a 31-30 score at the break.
Mount Mary took its first lead of the game on the opening possession of the second half, but Alverno answered on a jumper by Sapp off a feed by Roberts. The Blue Angels took an eight-point lead with 7:18 to go in the third, but Roberts got the ball rolling again for Alverno with a layup.
Roberts then connected on a three-pointer followed by another by Smith off of a Zahradka defensive rebound to pull the Inferno back within two at 43-41. The Inferno tied the score at 43 with a pair at the stripe, as the score remained deadlocked at 47 after 30 minutes of play.
In the fourth, Zahradka opened the scoring with a layup on a pass by Spencer, before Sardin gave the Inferno a three-point edge with 8:44 to go. Spencer gave Alverno a 56-51 lead with a three pointer, before Roberts connected on a three ball and Sapp picked up another bucket in the paint to put Alverno ahead 61-52.
After a 5-1 spurt by Mount Mary, Roberts again connected on a three-pointer with just over two minutes to go as she pushed Alverno ahead by six. Sapp gave Alverno a seven-point lead, while Roberts then connected on four from the free-throw stripe and a late jumper by Sapp capped off the night as the Inferno ran away late with the 73-61 win.
Alverno (1-3) will head into conference play next beginning with a road visit to the Kern Center as the Inferno will take on host MSOE beginning at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 30.
