MILWAUKEE – Alverno College went on a 9-0 run in the final three minutes of play to rally past the Lakeland College women's basketball team and win 65-62 Saturday night at Alverno's Reiman Gymnasium.

The Muskies came up short in their bid to wrap up their spot in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament and now must wait at least one more game to clinch. Lakeland is now 11-7 in the NACC (12-11 overall), still two games ahead of seventh-place Alverno at 9-9 in conference (12-11 overall).

Lakeland appeared ready to remove all doubt late in the fourth quarter on Saturday when Kayla Clark (Jr.-West Bend, Wis.) scored on a layup to give the Muskies a 59-55 with 2:47 remaining. Alverno responded with nine straight points over the next 2:30, though, taking the lead on a three-pointer by Brooke McBain with 1:38 left and going ahead 64-59 on two free throws by Gabby Hood with 17 seconds left.

The Muskies got back within two after Bailey Grayvold (Jr.-Norway, Mich.) made a three-pointer with eight seconds to play. McBain then split two free throws with four seconds left, and after a timeout Lakeland missed one final attempt at a tying three-pointer just before the buzzer.

The Muskies trailed by 11 points late in the first half before fighting back to take the lead and set the stage for a close finish. Lakeland hit six of its nine three-pointers in the second half, and Clark scored 11 of her team-high 15 points and dished out four of her game-high seven assists.

Alverno finished with a huge advantage on the boards, outrebounding the Muskies 55-32, including 20 offensive rebounds. The Inferno also did well dealing with Lakeland's defense, committing just 11 turnovers.

Trista Barron (Sr.-Escanaba, Mich.) finished with 13 points while Grayvold also added 11 and Maddy Doll (So.-Florence, Wis.) finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Lakeland shot 24 of 62 for the game (38.7%), including 9 of 25 from three-point range.

McBain led Alverno with 17 points and added nine rebounds while Hood added 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. The Inferno shot 35.2%, making 25 of 71 field goal attempts, and also hit 8 of 22 from three-point range.

The Muskies will be in Milwaukee again on Tuesday when they travel to face Wisconsin Lutheran College at 7 p.m.