BOX SCORE

Arlington, Va. (Nov. 19, 2006) – Senior guard Lauren Fortna (Lebanon, PA/Lebanon Catholic) hit her first of two 3s to break a 4-4 tie and Alvernia College never looked back in a 58-45 win over Wesley College in game nine of the Marymount Tip-Off Tournament Sunday morning at the Verizon Sports Arena.

            Alvernia (1-2) pushed its early lead to 10 points, 16-6, when senior guard Kerry Higgs (Westminster, MD/Westminster) knocked down a free throw with 10:02 left in the first half, and a stout Alvernia defense held Wesley (0-3) to just 18 first-half points.

            Wesley cut the deficit down to as few as three points early in the second half, but Higgs hit a 3 to double the lead to six points and Jill Rosolie (Quarryville, PA/Solanco) pushed the gap back to nine, 42-33 with another 3.  Wesley responded with four straight points to pull within five, but a 14-4 Alvernia run put the game out of reach.

            Higgs and senior Erin Knarr (Sinking Spring, PA/Wilson) led Alvernia with 12 points apiece while Fortna and Rosolie added 10 each.  Wesley got a game-high 16 points and 15 rebounds from Cheri Bryant.

            Alvernia will travel to Albright College on Tuesday and open up the conference schedule hosting Wesley on Thursday, Nov. 30.

Alvernia 58, Wesley 45