Frederick, Md. (Feb. 13, 2024) - Hood College outscored Alvernia University 44-28 in the second half to break a halftime tie and come away with a 77-61 win over Alvernia on Tuesday night in MAC Commonwealth women's basketball action at Hood.

Alvernia and the Blazers were locked at 33-33 at the half after Alvernia overcame a first quarter deficit. But, Hood held the Golden Wolves scoreless for the first four minutes of the second half to retake the lead. The Blazers kept Alvernia at bay in the final 20 minutes en route to the 77-61 win.

With the loss, Alvernia drops to 14-10 overall and 6-7 in MAC Commonwealth play. The Blazers improve to 4-19 overall and 3-10 in MAC Commonwealth play.

How it Happened

• Alvernia scored the opening points of the contest on a deep Meghan Ruth jumper, but those would be Alvernia's only two points through the first 3:10 of action as Hood took a 6-2 lead.
• The Blazers led 17-6 later in the quarter, but Alvernia closed the quarter on a 7-3 run to cut Hood's lead down to seven, 20-13, heading into the second frame. Morgan Janeski led Alvernia during its run to end the quarter with four points.
• A jumper from Tamia Wessels opened the second quarter for the Golden Wolves and got them within five, 20-15. The Blazers then made four straight free throws to push their lead back up to nine, but a 3-pointer from Janeski and two straight layups from Madison Miskar got Alvernia right back into it, 24-22, with 5:55 to play in the half.
• The Golden Wolves then took the lead, 26-24, following back-to-back layups from Wessels with just under five minutes to play in the half.
• Back-to-back 3-pointers by the Blazers gave the lead back to Hood, 30-26, with three minutes to play in the half. 
• Alvernia retook the lead, 33-30, following a Jordan Karmonick jumper, Wessels 3-pointer, and Karmonick layup. But, the Blazers scored a 3-pointer with under 20 seconds to play in the half to even the game at 33-33 going into the break.
• The Golden Wolves were held scoreless for the first four minutes of the second half and Hood took advantage. The Blazers broke the tie and pushed their lead to eight, 41-33.
• Alvernia got on the board in the second half with a Wessels 3-pointer and got within four, 43-39, on a Taliyah Malone 3-pointer with 5:19 on the clock.
• Hood did not let up and pushed its lead to double-digits three times over the next four minutes.
• A late 3-pointer from Karmonick got Alvernia within seven, 53-46, with under 30 seconds to play in the quarter, but Hood hit a late free throw to make it an eight point game, 54-36, going into the final frame.
• A Ruth jumper opened the fourth quarter for Alvernia and got the Golden Wolves within two possessions. But, Hood held Alvernia to just one point over the next four minutes while the Blazers put up 12 to take a 66-49 lead with 5:44 to play.
•  Alvernia put an end to its field goal drought with a 3-pointer by Wessels, but Alvernia could not string together baskets in the final five minutes. Hood led by at least ten the rest of the way and came away with the 77-61 win.

Inside the Box Score

• Tamia Wessels led Alvernia with 16 points and had a team-high seven rebounds and six steals. 
• Morgan Janeski led the bench with nine points.
• Hood's Chanelle Lee led all scorers with 28 points and had a game-high 15 rebounds.
• Alvernia shot just 28% from 3-point range, going 7-for-25. Hood shot 50% from beyond the arc with eight made 3-pointers on 16 attempts.

Of Note

• Hood's win over Alvernia put an end to a six-game win streak for Alvernia over the Blazers dating back to January of 2022. 
• Alvernia is now in a three-way tie for the final playoff spot with Messian and Widener locking up the #1 and #2 seeds. York also sits one game ahead of Alvernia in the #3 spot at 7-6.

Up Next

• Alvernia closes out the regular season at home on Saturday. The Golden Wolves will host Stevenson for a 1:00 PM tip-off at Jack McCloskey Court. Alvernia defeated 68-40 on the road in January.