MILWAUKEE -- Trailing by one with 45 seconds remaining, Alverno College forced a Concordia University Wisconsin miss, but was unable to come up with a defensive rebound and eventually lost to the visiting Falcons 38-35 tonight at Reiman Gymnasium.
Concordia's Melanie Kulibert sank two free throws to give the Falcons a three-point cushion with just 13 seconds left in the game. After a timeout the Inferno looked to give Shataya McComb (Kingston, N.Y.) the last shot, but the Falcons' pressure defense forced McComb to put up a well-contested shot as time expired for the 38-35 final.
"I couldn't be more proud of our team tonight," Alverno head coach Brad Duckworth said. "It's rare that you're willing, as a team, to put everything on the table, and sometimes it doesn't go your way. I'm more proud of them in the loss tonight than I've been in some of our wins because of their willingness to leave everything on the floor."
The Inferno (9-11, 6-8 Northern Athletics Conference) held the Falcons (14-7, 13-2) to just 15 points in the first half, but managed to score only 16 for the one-point lead at intermission. Concordia shot marginally better in the first half, 6-of-26 compared to Alverno's 6-of-27, but the Inferno had advantage from the 3-point arc in the period with a 2-of-8 performance compared to 0-of-9.
Neither team fared much better in the second half, shooting just under 26 percent combined, but the Falcons' 45-40 advantage on the boards proved to be a factor in the final result.
McComb picked up a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Inferno in both categories. Hannah Galstad (Holmen, Wis.) and Gabby Allen (Milwaukee/Bay View) also chipped in seven points apiece, while Kristen Speerschneider (New Franken, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) added six.
Concordia's Kendall Kerns led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting and also snagged nine rebounds.
Both teams wore special MDA T-shirts during warm-ups to help promote the upcoming 2011 Milwaukee MDA Muscle Walk. Raffles and donations were taken during the game, with proceeds benefiting the Muscle Walk.
"In the grand scheme of things, to raise almost $450 and a lot of awareness for a cause that is near to the heart of our assistant coach (Jenny Imhoff) and to her daughter Reagan, who is a big part of our team, puts the game into perspective. It's just a basketball game, and I'm proud of both teams in their efforts to drive awareness to something that's dear to both of our clubs."
Alverno is next in action this Saturday at Rockford College. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip-off in Rockford, Ill.