FOND DU LAC - Marian University women's basketball (1-0, 1-0 NACC) opened the season with a strong 65-40 win over Alverno in NACC action.

The Sabres were able to get out to a fast start taking a 10-2 lead in the first 2:42 of the game forcing an Inferno timeout.  The break was good for Alverno as they were able to tie the game at 10-10 only to have the Sabres score the final five points of the quarter to go ahead 15-10.

Alverno was able to return the favor scoring the first seven points of the second quarter and forced a Sabre timeout as the Inferno went up 17-15 with 7:22 before the half.  The Sabres were able to bounce back out of the break scoring eight unanswered points and eventually going into the half ahead 25-18.

The start to the second half was fairly even but it was another late push from the Sabres that allowed them to outscore the Inferno 18-12 in the third.  Marian used the momentum from the strong finish to shoot 43.8-percent from the field in the fourth quarter and pull away from the Inferno.  The Sabres closed out the quarter with 22 points, while holding Alverno to only 10 points off of 23.1-percent shooting.

Sophomore Claire Levendoski was able to bounce back after a slow start to finish with a game-high 16 points, while junior Paris Harris and freshman Alyssa Madison each chipped in 10 points.  In her first game as a Sabre, freshman Serina Pehowski narrowly missed out on a double-double scoring nine points with 12 boards.

Marian closes out the series with Alverno tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 23, with a 5 p.m. tip.