Reading, Pa. (Nov. 8, 2025) - Alvernia University (1-0) scored 41 second-half points to complete a 59-48 comeback over Notre Dame of Maryland (0-1) on Saturday afternoon in the 2025-26 season-opener at Alvernia.

The Golden Wolves trailed by nine after the first quarter after getting outscored 13-4. Alvernia closed the deficit down to four, 22-18, at the half. Alvernia then outscored the Gators 19-10 in the third quarter and 22-16 in the fourth to complete the comeback and grab the season–opening win.

How it Happened

• Taryn Woodson marked the first points of Alvernia's 2025-26 season with a layup just under two minutes into the contest. But, Notre Dame scored 11 points before Alvernia put another pair of points up on the board with a Samantha Wade layup with 2:30 remaining in the quarter. Notre Dame then took a 13-4 lead into the second frame. 
• Alvernia quickly worked to close the deficit to open the second quarter. A pair of layups from Kyla Reed and Olivia Burke made it a five point game, 13-8, less than a minute into the quarter. But, both teams went scoreless for nearly two and a half minutes.
• The Gators came out of the scoreless stretch scoring three of the next four points to build their lead back up to seven, 16-9.
• A layup from Reed and a Ryleigh Poole 3-point quickly closed the game once again, bringing it to a one score game, 16-14, with 4:33 to play in the quarter. The Golden Wolves then tied the game at 16-16 with 2:47 to play on a layup by Jennah DeGout. But, the Gators outscored Alvernia 6-2 through the remainder of the half to take a 22-18 lead into the break.
• Alvernia came out of the break firing, scoring on an opening-possession layup from Olivia Burke to get within two, 22-20. The Golden Wolves hung within two possessions for about four minutes until a putback layup by Jennah DeGout followed by a Grace Dobrzynski 3-pointer gave Alvernia the lead, 27-26, with 5:36 to play in the third. Poole then followed Dobrzynski's three with one of her own to give Alvernia the four point lead, 30-26, as the quarter hit its mid-point. 
• A Jordan Reynold layup with 2:49 to go in the quarter gave the Golden Wolves some breathing room, 35-27, but it quickly went away following a 5-2 run by the Gators to close out the quarter and make it a 37-32 game in favor for Alvernia.
• The Golden Wolves and Gators traded points to open the first half of the fourth quarter. But, a corner three from Reed gave Alvernia a ten-point lead, 48-38. A quick 5-2 run by the Gators brought them back within five, 50-45, with 3:42 to play, but Alvernia closed out strong.
• Alvernia held the Gators scoreless for the final two and a half minutes of the game. A DeGout layup gave Alvernia the seven point advantage, 55-48, with 2:11 to play, and a Poole pull-up jumper made it a nine point game, 57-48, with 40 seconds to go. Reed then closed things out with a pair of made free throws for the 59-48 final.

Inside the Box Score

• Jennah DeGout came off the bench and led Alvernia with 12 points. She also posted nine rebounds and had two blocks. Kyla Reed finished with 11 points, and Taryn Woodson had nine points, ten rebounds, and two blocks.
• Alvernia had 25 turnovers on the day, but the Golden Wolves defense held strong and allowed just 13 points from the Gators off of turnovers. Alvernia's defense also finished with 41 of the team's 48 boards, and the Golden Wolves finished with a total of ten blocks.

Up Next

• Alvernia has a quick turnaround and is back in action on Monday night at 6:00 PM hosting Penn State Brandywine.