Reading, Pa. (Feb. 21, 2022) - #8 Alvernia University (12-13) held #9 Hood College (6-20) to just 13 points in the second half as the Golden Wolves pulled away for the 78-42 win over the Blazers on Monday night in the opening round of the MAC Commonwealth Championship. 

In their second game against the Blazers in just over 48 hours, the Golden Wolves ran away with the contest much like they did on Saturday. While Alvernia used a fast first half on Saturday to come away with the 88-52, the Golden Wolves used a strong second half showing to push past the Blazers for the second straight 36 point win. 

With the win, Alvernia advances to the MAC Commonwealth quarterfinals where the Golden Wolves will take on the top-seeded Messiah University on Wednesday night at 6:00 PM.

Alvernia opened the contest with a 3-pointer from Jordan Karmonick just seconds after the tip. Alvernia extended it to a 5-0 lead following a Tamia Wessels jumper with 9:17 on the first quarter clock.

The Alvernia offense then went cold for the next four minutes while Hood battled back in and took the 7-5 lead on a Bre Smith 3-pointer with 5:52 left in the first quarter. 

The Golden Wolves tied it back up at 7-7 on two made Wessels free throws, and a Karmonick layup gave Alvernia the lead back, 9-7, with 4:33 to play in the first.

Karmonick then made it a four point following a layup off a steal, but the Blazers got back within two on a layup of their own with 3:14 to go in the first.

The trading of baskets continued for the next two minutes until a put-back layup from Wessels under contact gave Alvernia the 17-13 advantage. Wessels made her and-one to then make it a five point game, 18-13, with 1:09 remaining in the first.

The Golden Wolves then converted four free throws over the next 30 seconds to push it to an eight point game, 21-13, but the Blazers had the final points of the half with a Destiny Galloway three to make it a 21-16 game going into the second frame.

Hood opened the second quarter scoring with a Morgan Anderson jumper, but Alvernia answered with a Kayla Williams jumper to go up by five, 23-18, with 8:52 to play in the half.

The Williams jumper marked the start of a 10-0 run for Alvernia over the next two and a half minutes. The run included threes from Karmonick and Wessels as Alvernia's lead grew to 13, 31-18, with 6:13 to play in the half.

Alvernia's lead hung around ten points until the final second of the half. With .5 seconds left on the clock, Alvernia's Chenoa Bernhardt inbounded the ball to Karmonick who knocked down a deep three as the buzzer sounded to give Alvernia the 13 point, 42-29, lead going into the break.
The Golden Wolves carried the momentum of the buzzer-beater into the third quarter. Wessels opened the scoring with a layup at the 8:21 mark to give Alvernia the 15 point lead, 44-29. Alvernia held Hood scoreless for the opening six minutes, but were held to just a free throw by Wessels in that same span. 

A layup from Tyra Robinson marked the field goal drought for both sides and gave Alvernia the 49-31 advantage. A layup and an and-one free throw from Anderson brought Hood within 15 with 3:18 to go in the quarter. Hood then held Alvernia scoreless for the next two minutes while knocking down two layups to get within 11, 49-38, but the Golden Wolves would not allow the Blazers to get any closer as a Malone three put Alvernia up by 14, 52-38, with under a minute in the third.

Alvernia opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run to extend its lead to 21, 59-38. A layup from the Blazers brought it back within 20, 59-40, but an 11-0 run for Alvernia pushed the game to a 30 point Alvernia advantage, 70-40, with 5:09 to play.

Hood scored just two more points, both off of made free throws, in the final five minutes as Alvernia tacked on eight more - four off the hands of Bernhardt and four off the hands of Tyra Robinson - as Alvernia came away with the 78-42 victory.

Both Karmonick and Wessels finished with a game-high21 points. Karmonick also added nine rebounds and six assists to her stat line. Williams and Malone also finished in double digits with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Jannelle Robinson led Alvernia's rebounding efforts with 10 boards. 

The Golden Wolves will head to Grantham for the first time this season. Alvernia was supposed to face Messiah on the road in early January, but the game was canceled due to health and safety protocols. Alvernia then faced the Falcons for the first time this season on February 12. Alvernia nearly pulled off the upset of the then ranked #13 Falcons, but Messiah was able to edge Alvernia, 60-58. 

Messiah, the top seed in the tournament, has one the last five MAC Championships dating back to 2017. But, the Falcons fell to Widener University, on Saturday to close out the regular season. The Pride pulled off the upset after trailing 19 points in the third quarter. The win extended Widener's winning streak to nine games and handed the Falcons their second conference loss of the season. 

The winner of the Alvernia vs. Messiah matchup will go on to face the winner of #5 Albright vs. #4 Stevenson on Friday.