MILWAUKEE -- Alverno College extended an eight-point half-time lead to as many as 23 and coasted to a 63-41 victory over visiting Maranatha Baptist tonight in Reiman Gymnasium.

Alverno head coach Brad Duckworth knows how big the victory was, putting his team in the driver's seat for one of the final spots in the 2011 Northern Athletics Conference Tournament.

"For us the playoffs started tonight," Duckworth said. "But there's a lot of basketball to be played."

The Inferno (10-12, 7-9 NAC) took care of business from the get go, and took a 5-2 lead on a Gabby Allen (Milwaukee/Bay View) 3-pointer and led the rest of the game. Allen would score 11 of her game-high 18 points in the half on 5-of-9 shooting.

A three-point play by freshman Jamie Hoernke (Mt. Horeb, Wis.) increased Alverno's first-half lead to a high of 14 before the Crusaders (6-15, 1-14) ended the period on a 6-0 run for the 33-25 half-time score.

Alverno opened up the second half on a 13-2 run capped off by another Hoernke three-point play with just over 13 minutes remaining, which increased the lead to 46-27.

"Tonight I thought we did some good things," Duckworth said, "but I'm a little disappointed with 21 turnovers. We have to clean some of that stuff up. But I'm happy with our rebounding and we shot the ball pretty well."

The Inferno shot over 40 percent from the floor -- including over 45 percent in the first half -- and outrebounded the Crusaders 34-28 with 17 offensive rebounds. Alicia Kontowski (South Milwaukee, Wis.) snagged a game-high 10 rebounds for the Inferno, while Allen, Hoernke and Hannah Galstad (Holmen, Wis.) had four apiece.

Alyssa Jensen (Cudahy, Wis.) and Kristen Speerschneider (New Franken, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) scored nine points apiece and Galstad chipped in seven points for the Inferno.

Allen and Shataya McComb (Kingston, N.Y.) tied for a team-high five steals that helped force 32 Maranatha turnovers.

Kristin Morrison and Torey DeLozier both had 12 points to lead the Crusaders.

Alverno has two conference games remaining on its schedule, starting on Thursday at Edgewood. The Inferno then host Marian on Wednesday, Feb. 16, in the final home game of the season. Though there are scenarios where the Inferno can still sneak their way into the NAC tournament, the team controls its own destiny and can secure a spot in the tournament with two victories.

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