Inferno Rallies For 72-69 Overtime Victory Over Regents

Amber Meka's (Caledonia, Wis./Thomas More) layup with 29 seconds remaining in overtime broke a 68-68 tie and gave Alverno College the lead for good in a 72-69 Northern Athletics Conference victory over the visiting Rockford College Regents tonight in Reiman Gymnasium.

The Regents (4-17, 3-11 NAC) made one-of-two free throws on the ensuing possession, but Kristen Speerschneider (New Franken, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) connected with Kayla Kennedy (Trempealeau, Wis./Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau) on a homerun pass with 5 seconds remaining to give the Inferno the final three-point lead.

Rockford's 3-point attempt just before time expired was off the mark as the Inferno (6-15, 3-12) snapped its seven-game losing streak with the overtime victory.

It looked as though Alverno would add another loss to its streak as the team trailed by 13 points with 5:42 to go in regulation. But the host team would hold the Regents to just three points the rest of regulation and the Inferno's offense would finally heat up as back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers would cut the deficit down to just four points.

A steal by Meka followed by a three-point play by Alicia Kontowski (South Milwaukee, Wis.) on the next possession hacked the Regents' lead to 58-57.

The Regents, who finished the game shooting just 40 percent (8-of-20) from the free-throw line, would miss a pair, and the Inferno's Alyssa Jensen (Cudahy, Wis.) would go 2-for-2 from the line to give the Inferno its first lead since 15:31 in the first half.

Rockford's Britney Curry, who led all scorers with 21 points, went to the line and was 1-for-2 to tie things up at 59-59, before Meka hit a 19-foot jumper with 42 seconds left to put the Inferno back in front.

Curry would be sent to the line again, but sink both shots to tie it again with 31 seconds. Kontowski -- who recorded a double-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists -- would get the final attempt in regulation, but it missed of the back rim forcing the game into overtime.

Rockford scored first in the extra period, but a three-point play by Kennedy gave the Inferno the lead, until a Curry jumper knotted the game at 68-68 with just under a minute to play, before Meka's heroics put the Inferno in front for good.

"Our player of the game in the second half was Amber Meka," said Alverno head coach Brad Duckworth. "She came off the screen, caught, shot and made it, and then did it again. I was really proud of her."

Meka had eight points, scoring a pair in the second half and the remainder in overtime, and also had a game-high six steals.

Speerschneider led the Inferno with 17 points, as she shot 4-of-8 from long range and added six assists and four steals. Jensen also added 15 and Kennedy scored 11.

"An unsung hero of this game is Kayla (Kennedy). She busted her tail tonight, especially on defense, and she just made some huge plays.

"I couldn't be prouder of the team tonight. I can say something good about all of them," Duckworth said.

Alverno shot 9-of-22 from the 3-point arc and 7-of-11 from the free-throw line, while the defense came up with 20 steals on 27 turnovers by the Regents.

The Inferno hosts Edgewood College next Thursday at 7 p.m. on Senior Night.

Box Score