St. David's, Pa. (Jan. 17, 2024) - A late rally by Alvernia University came up just one point short as the Golden Wolves fell to Eastern University 47-46 on Wednesday night in MAC Commonwealth women's basketball action at Eastern.

Eastern led by as much as 17 in the third quarter before Alvernia worked its way back. The Golden Wolves were within one possession for the final two and a half minutes of the game. Alvernia had the final look with Kayla Williams driving to the basket for Alvernia, but Williams could not get her shot to fall as Eastern came away with the 47-46 win.

With the loss, Alvernia drops to 9-7 overall and 1-4 in MAC Commonwealth play. The Eagles improve to 7-8 overall and 3-2 in MAC Commonwealth play.

How it Happened

• Alvernia led 4-0 early following a free throw and 3-pointer by Jordan Karmonick.
• With Alvernia still up by four, 6-2, with seven minutes to play in the quarter, the Eagles called a timeout and regrouped. Coming out of the timeout, Eastern went on a 21-2 run to close out the first quarter and two minutes into the second quarter to take a 23-8 lead.
• A Karmonick layup got Alvernia into double-digits with 6:45 to play in the half. Alvernia then held Eastern to two points the remainder of the half while Alvernia put up eight more to make it a 25-18 game going into the half.
• The Eagles came out of the break and put up a quick ten points to take a 35-18 lead with 8:08 on the clock in the third.
• A Karmonick jumper got Alvernia on the board in the second half with 7:51 to play in the quarter. Both teams then went scoreless for 2:10 before a pair of made free throws by Williams got Alvernia within 13, 35-22.
• The Eagles continued to go without a point as Alvernia got within ten, 35-25, following a Karmonick layup and Kylie Bradford free throw with 3:56 to play.
• Eastern ended its scoreless drought after nearly five minutes with a 3-pointer to once again make it a 13 point game. 
• A layup from Bradford and a 3-pointer from Karmonick got Alvernia back within single digits, 39-30, with 2:35 to play in the quarter. Alvernia did not score a field goal the rest of the quarter as Eastern took a 41-31 lead into the final frame.
• Alvernia scored the opening four points of the quarter off of jumpers from Meghan Ruth and Karmonick to get within two possessions, 41-35, with 8:09 to play.
• Eastern scored a jumper on its next possession to go back up by eight. Alvernia responded with a driving layup from Williams with seven minutes to play. But, both Alvernia and the Eagles went scoreless for the next two minutes.
• A jumper from Ruth resumed the scoring and brought Alvernia within four, 43-39, with just under five minutes to go. 
• A jumper from Eastern marked the Eagles first points in over three minutes and gave the Eagles a two-possession advantage, 45-39, with 4:20 to go. 
• Eastern's scoring again came to a stop as Alvernia worked its way within one, 45-44, with 2:34 to play following a jumper from Ruth and a deep two point shot from Taliyah Malone. 
• The Eagles scored just their sixth point of the quarter on its next possession to make it a three point game, 47-44, with two minutes to play. That jumper would turn out to be Eastern's final points of the game.
• Alvernia came down the floor and Ruth hit another jumper to get the Golden Wolves back within one, 47-46, with 1:50 to go. Alvernia forced an Eastern turnover on its next possession, but Alvernia missed two shots to stay down by one. 
• Alvernia then came down with the defensive board and called a timeout with 13 seconds to go to set up the final play. Alvernia inbounded the ball and had Williams drive through the paint. She got her shot off in time, but it did not fall as the Eagles held on for the 47-46 win. 

Inside the Box Score

• Karmonick led Alvernia with 21 points and 12 rebounds. She also led the Golden Wolves with three assists and four steals.
• Ruth was Alvernia's second-leading scorer with eight points in 14 minutes of action off the bench. 
• Williams finished with six blocks and five points. 
• Jeriyah Johnson led Eastern with 17 points and Taryn Woodson had 20 rebounds.

Of Note

• Alvernia shot 16-for-75, with seven of its 16 field goals coming in the fourth quarter after Alvernia was held to just nine through the first three quarters.
• Alvernia outrebounded the Eagles 50-48, including a 17-6 advantage on the offensive boards.
• The Golden Wolves had won nine of the last ten meetings prior to tonight. Eastern's win is its first over Alvernia since January of 2022.
• Eastern's 47 points marks the second straight time of the winner of the Alvernia vs. Eastern matchup won with just 47 points. Alvernia defeated Eastern 47-38 in the final matchup of the series last time, which also took place at Eastern.

Up Next

• Alvernia will look to rebound on the road on Saturday at Stevenson. The Mustangs are 4-12 overall and 0-5 in MAC Commonwealth play. The Mustangs lost a close contest to Hood, 55-53, earlier this evening.