MILWAUKEE – Freshman Camiria Sardin had a program record 26 rebounds on Tuesday afternoon as she recorded the second-ever 20-point, 20-rebound game in program history as she helped guide the Inferno to a 72-63 win over the Blackburn Beavers inside Reiman Gymnasium.
 
With the combination of team and individual rebounds, the Inferno amassed 69 for the contest, which is the most for an Inferno team in a single contest since the 2005-06 season, when Alverno had 67 rebounds against Mount Mary.
 
Sardin had a career-high with 21 points and had 26 rebounds, which included 12 offensive rebounds in the effort. She shot 8-of-16 from the field and also had both of Alverno's block and chipped in with a steal on the effort. Alverno's lone other 20-20 performance came in the program's inaugural season in its seventh-ever game as Lisa Hochschild corralled 20 rebounds and had 21 points in the win.
 
The Inferno also got a double-double by junior Mya Roberts, who tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds to go along with one assist. Freshman Kyla Jamerson was also in double figures with 13 points and seven rebounds.
 
Freshman Morgan Whitten had nine points and three rebounds, while classmate Mariah Smith had seven points with four boards and led the team with four assists in the effort. Sophomore Jewel Zahradka had seven rebounds and five points, while Olivia Daugherty had two points and three rebounds. Freshman Tyee Rhodes had three points and one rebound.
 
After the Beavers started with six unanswered out of the gate, Sardin and Roberts had back-to-back layups to pull the Inferno within two. Alverno tied the score at seven on a Zahradka three-pointer before the Inferno took its first lead of the game with 3:20 to go on a layup by Sardin to make the score 11-10.
 
The Inferno led by as many as three in the latter stages of the opening quarter, but a last-second basket by Blackburn gave Alverno a 16-15 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
 
Alverno took a five-point advantage on a shot by Daugherty, and later took a seven-point lead after a basket and and-one free throw by Jamerson at 28-21 with 5:47 left in the half. Blackburn chipped away and regained the lead at 29-28 before the two sides went into the halftime break tied at 34 on a last-second layup by Zahradka to knot the score.
 
Blackburn began the second half and took a 10-point lead at 48-38, but Sardin got the Inferno started back in the right direction with a pair of free throws and a layup. Whitten and Jamerson put up points for the Inferno followed by a three-pointer by Smith to pull the Inferno within three at 53-50 in the closing minute. Whitten added one more before the fourth quarter to pull the Inferno within two.
 
The Beavers had a 58-57 lead with 6:30 to go in the quarter, before Whitten picked up a layup to put Alverno back on top. Blackburn regained the lead before Sardin put the Inferno up for good at 61-60, Roberts had two free throws and then dropped a three-pointer before Sardin and Jamerson hit shots to make the score 70-60 in favor of Alverno. The Inferno iced the game with late free throws for the 72-63 victory.
 
Alverno (2-8) will shift its focus to conference play for the rest of the season, as the Inferno will open up 2023 on Wednesday, January 4, for a 7 p.m. start inside Reiman Gymnasium against the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks.