MILWAUKEE – The Lakeland University women's basketball team finished strong for the second straight night, closing the game on a 34-11 run to rally past Alverno College for a 53-36 win Wednesday night at Reiman Gymnasium.

The Muskies avoided a slip-up against the winless Inferno and completed a sweep of the teams' two-game series rescheduled from earlier in the month. Lakeland moved to 4-5 overall and is now 3-5 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference North Division with two regular season games to play.

The Muskies turned the game around in the third quarter, scoring 17 straight points to turn a 25-19 deficit into a 36-25 lead. Alexa Yost (Fr.-Menasha, Wis.) converted a three-point play to get it started, and seven different players scored during the run.

Having built a 36-27 lead at the end of the third quarter, Lakeland weathered a brief Inferno run to start the fourth. Alverno scored the first four points of the period to get within five at 36-31, but the Muskies outscored the hosts 17-5 the rest of the way.

Lakeland was in a bit of trouble early, falling behind 16-9 in the second quarter. The Muskies shot 22.2% in the first half (6 of 27) but did rally to take a two-point lead late in the first half before Alverno pulled back ahead 22-19 at the break.

Lakeland received good production from its bench, including Ellie Felsinger (So.-Cedar Grove, Wis.) and Morgan Zenon (Jr.-Twin Lakes, Wis.) leading the team with eight points each and pacing the team's 27-3 advantage in bench points. Kacey Gardner (Jr.-Evergreen Park, Ill.) and Megan Will (Sr.-Lake Mills, Wis.) added seven points each. Gardner also finished with team highs of 11 rebounds and five assists.

The Muskies finished shooting 31.6%, making 18 of 57 shots, but held Alverno to 29.5% shooting (13 of 44). The Inferno also posted a 41-30 rebounding advantage but committed 28 turnovers to Lakeland's nine.

Vorian Wilcox scored nine points and added 11 rebounds to lead Alverno, which finished its season with a 0-10 record overall and in the NACC North. Courtney Zarda also added nine points.

The Muskies have Thursday off but then return to play Friday, hosting Marian University at 7 p.m. Lakeland will close out its regular season Saturday with a second game against Marian at 5 p.m. to conclude a week including four games in five days.