Health & Fitness
Strong 2nd Half Lifts Inferno Past Regents
A 3-pointer by Kristen Speerschneider sparked a 12-2 run to end the game as Alverno defeated host Rockford 67-52 in a Northern Athletics Conference game on Saturday evening at the Seaver Center.
ROCKFORD, Ill. -- A 3-pointer by Kristen Speerschneider sparked a 12-2 run to end the game as Alverno College defeated host Rockford College 67-52 in a Northern Athletics Conference game on Saturday evening at the Seaver Center.
"Speer's 3 sealed the game for us," Alverno head coach Brad Duckworth said. "They were really making a run and that silenced it."
Jamie Hoernke added a pair of free throws to put the lead back to double digits andKayla Kennedy scored back-to-back layups to keep the game out of reach for the Regents (1-5, 1-2 NAC), who were held to just one field goal in the final 4:28.
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Speerschneider's 3-point field goal was her only basket of the game, but it came at a most opportune time for the visiting Inferno. The junior point guard finished the game with nine points on a 6-of-8 performance from the free-throw line and added four assists.
After a back-and-forth first half and 28-28 tie at halftime, the Inferno (2-2, 1-1 NAC) took control in the second half and slowly built up its lead to 10 on a Kaitlin Schaerenfree throw with just over 13 minutes to play.
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Devon Gorman scored a fast-break layup four minutes later to increase the spread to 14 points, before the Regents chipped away at the Inferno lead and cut it to just five, 55-50, at the 4:29 mark. Then the 3-point shot began the final run.
Kennedy was one of three Inferno players to reach double digits as she scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting for her season-best output.
"Kayla really played a great game on both ends tonight," Duckworth said. "It was great to get her going on offense."
Gorman was 6-of-10 from the field for 15 points while Hoernke recorded a double-double with 11 points and a game-best 10 rebounds.
Nicole Lawler got 17 points and nine rebounds for Rockford, which was held to just 28-percent shooting in the second half, and 36 percent for the game.
"When we run our stuff we are a pretty good team. We play too fast at times, but it was great to see us settle in and come away with the victory," added Duckworth.
Alverno returns to action in another league game on Tuesday at Lakeland College. Tipoff will be at 7 p.m.
