MILWAUKEE, Wis. - For the fourth time in the last six games, the Rockford University women's basketball team was involved in a contest that was not decided until the final possession. Over the past few weeks, the Regents have suffered multiple heartbreaking moments including a banked in three-pointer at the buzzer and a pair of two-point defeats one of which came in overtime. However, on Wednesday night Rockford was finally able to cast aside its demons as the Regents pulled out an exciting 66-65 road win against the Alverno College Inferno.
It was an extremely close game the entire way as there were 10 ties and 21 lead changes. After falling behind and trailing for much of the opening 10 minutes, Rockford used an 11-3 run to grab a 20-16 advantage with 6:50 remaining in the opening half. A trio of Regents led the Rockford charge spearheaded by 6 points from senior center Katie Clark (Rock City, Ill.). Moments later the ladies extended their lead to a game-high 8 points after layup by Diamond Williams (Carpentersville, Ill.) found of the bottom of the net at the 5:24 mark. However, Alverno closed the half strong scoring 13 of the final 17 points to take a 1-point lead into the intermission.
The second half was equally as close as the entire 20 minutes were played within an 8-point range. Rockford's largest lead of the half came after the Regents strung together an early 10-2 run to regain the lead at 46-40. Mallorie Getzelman (Bryon, Ill.) and Diamond Williams bookended the Rockford run with 3 points apiece. However just like in the first half, the Inferno fired right back to retake the lead five minutes later. The game went back and forth until the 3:01 mark when the Regents retook the lead for good on a pair of Diamond Williams free throws. Rockford then leaned on its defense down the stretch holding Alverno to just one made basket over the final four minutes of play. The lone Inferno bucket came off a putback at the buzzer after Alverno missed the game-tying three-pointer in the closing seconds as the Regents held on for the 66-65 victory.
Diamond Williams and Katie Clark continue their excellent play for Rockford. Williams scored 18 points, had a team-high 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Clark also tied for the team-high with 18 points while grabbing 8 rebounds off the bench.
Mallorie Getzelman was the other Regent to crack double-figures with 10 points including knocking down Rockford's lone three-pointer.
The women's basketball team returns to the court on Saturday, February 14 at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
