READING, Pa. - Despite a strong second half, the Albright women's basketball team suffered a 61-53 setback to Alvernia in the final game of the home-and-home series in MAC Commonwealth play on Friday night.
 
With the loss, the Lions saw its 13-game winning streak over the Golden Wolves end as they dropped to 6-4 overall and 4-4 in MAC Commonwealth play. Meanwhile, the Golden Wolves improved to 4-3 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
 
Juniors Gabby Boggs and Brady Wassel both posted double-doubles on the evening for the Lions. Boggs accounted for 13 points, shooting 40% (6-of-15) from the field, and 12 rebounds. Wassel posted 13 points, shooting 50% (6-of-12) from the field, 13 rebounds, and 3 assists. Junior Maggie O'Hare led the Lions in scoring with 15 points, shooting 44.4% (4-of-9) from the field, 50% (3-of-6) from beyond the arc, and went a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
 
Alvernia came out of the gate strong, starting the first quarter on an 18-4 run. The run was keyed with 15-straight points from the Golden Wolves after the Lions held a 4-3 lead at the 8:11-mark. O'Hare ended the run with a three-pointer with 2:47 left in the first quarter. The three-pointer sparked a 10-2 run for the Lions as Wassel scored on back-to-back plays to cut the deficit down to 20-14 at the 1:30-mark of the first quarter. However, the Golden Wolves closed the quarter with five-straight points to take a 25-14 lead, capped by a three-point play with two seconds left. Senior Allison Dienes tallied a jumper at the 7:56-mark of the second quarter to bring the deficit down to 27-16. Unfortunately for the Lions, that would turn out to be the lone field goal of the quarter. The Golden Wolves took advantage of Albright's struggles from the field as they scored 12-straight points to take a commanding 39-16 lead at the 2:17-mark. Alvernia capped its 14-3 run with a pair of free throws to go up 41-19 at halftime.
 
O'Hare snapped the Lions field goal drought of 10:23 with a three-pointer which also sparked a nine-straight point run to cut the Golden Wolves lead down to 43-28 at the 5:02-mark. The Lions continued to claw back in the contest as they made it a nine-point game at 48-39 at the 1:34-mark, but were unable to get any further in the third quarter as Alvernia maintained a 52-41 advantage. The Golden Wolves built its lead back up to 15 points at 56-41 with 7:59 left in regulation before the Lions made another charge with five-straight points to cut the deficit down to 56-46. However, the Golden Wolves continued to have an answer for every Lions run as they built its lead back up to 13 points at 59-46. A three-pointer from junior Amina Rauf pulled Albright within six points at 59-53 with 1:36 left in regulation, but the Lions ran out of time as the Golden Wolves held on for the win.
 
Albright shot 31.8% (21-of-36) from the field, 27.3% (6-of-22) from beyond the arc, and 71.4% (5-of-7) from the free throw line. In turn, Alvernia shot 40.4% (23-of-57) from the field, 20% (3-of-15) from beyond the arc, and 60% (12-of-20) from the free throw line. The Golden Wolves held a 45-40 edge in the rebounding battle.
 
Dee McCormick led Alvernia with a game-high 20 points, shooting 61.5% (8-of-13) from the field. Cathryn Kramer recorded a double-double with 15 points, shooting 60% (6-of-10) from the field, and grabbed 10 rebounds.  Julia Ewen pulled a game- high 19 rebounds and scored seven points for the Golden Wolves.
 
The Lions will now await its MAC crossover opponent for the final game of the 2021 season next Thursday, March 18^th.