Nov. 26, 2016 - The Cougars have ridden hot shooting and strong defense to a 2-0 start to the 2016-2017 season. They looked to continue that when they traveled to Milwaukee to take on the Alverno Inferno. The Cougars struggled shooting from the field and even more from deep. Second chance points proved costly for CUC allowing 23 offensive rebounds. CUC competed throughout, but a one point lead with 1:31 left would not hold up. The Cougars suffered their first loss of the season 58-55.

The first few minutes set the theme for the night. CUC struggled to get the offensive attack going, not scoring till the 6:36 mark in the quarter when Taylor Jacobsen converted a layup. The Cougars continued to trail while struggling to score. They trailed 11-7 after the first quarter where CUC shot just 3-18 from the floor including 0-7 from three.

Both teams continued to struggle to score through the early goings of the second quarter. CUC finally get the offense going with four straight points by Courtney Lofink that tied the score at 11. Erin Jacobsen gave CUC their first lead at the 5:37 mark with a three from the wing. The Cougars press started to really get to the Inferno over the next few minutes, creating multiple fastbreak opportunities, two of which were finished by E. Jacobsen that extended the lead to eight. CUC was able to extend the lead into double digits with a jumper by Lauren Orr with 2:13 remaining in the quarter. She extended the lead to 13 just 23 seconds later with a three. Alverno cut into the Cougars' momentum late in the quarter, sending the teams to the locker room with CUC leading 26-17

Alverno continued to swing the momentum to begin the second half. A big part of the Inferno run was thanks to Mackenzie Mathies. She started the quarter with a four-point play that brought the Inferno fans to their feet. She hit another three on the following possession to cut the CUC lead to four. Threes by T. Jacobsen and Annika Rae subdued the Inferno momentarily. Three threes by Mathies over the final two minutes gave Alverno the lead back at 44-39 to end the third.

The Inferno built their lead to as many as nine early in the fourth. The Cougars continued to struggle to find the bottom of the net offensively to make a run. They finally did late in the quarter. A layup by E. Jacobsen cut the deficit to six. Back-to-back layups by Orr cut the Inferno lead to just two with 2:02 remaining. A three off the wing by Miranda Rogers gave the Cougars the lead back, but it would not last. A layup by Donna Zehner gave Alverno the lead directly following the Rogers three. CUC had a couple shots late to tie, but was unable to convert the tying basket, falling by a 58-55 final.

The Cougars shot just 35 percent from the floor (21-59) and 22 percent from three (3-22). Lofink led CUC with 13 points followed by Orr with 12. The Cougar defense did well, holding Alverno to just 20-65 from the floor for the game. A telling stat in the game was the 23 offensive rebounds for Alverno that led to 22 second-chance points, including the game winning basket.

The Cougars (2-1 1-1 NACC) will continue their four game road trip when they head to Concordia Wisconsin on Wednesday. Opening tip against the rival Falcons is set for 7:00 from Mequon