FOND DU LAC, Wis. -- A 13-point halftime deficit proved too much to overcome as Alverno College dropped an 86-75 decision to host Marian University tonight in Sadoff Gymnasium.

The loss snapped the Inferno's three-game winning streak and propelled the Sabres into the upcoming Northern Athletics Conference tournament.

Alverno (8-16, 5-13 NAC) held its largest lead of the game, 14-8, with just under 14 minutes to play in the first half, but a 12-2 run by the Sabres (13-11, 9-9 NAC) gave the hosts a lead they would not surrender.

Marian slowly increased its lead to double digits and finally to 13 points on a first-half buzzer beater by Alexis Becker, who finished the night with a game-high 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting.

Still trailing by 13 points with 3:48 remaining, the Inferno used a 10-1 spurt in less than 2 minutes to cut the lead to just four, 75-71. The Sabres quickly answered with a 3-pointer -- one of 12 on the night -- and made their free-throws down the stretch to secure the win and the final spot in the conference tournament.

Though the Alverno defense forced 20 turnovers, it gave up 15 offensive rebounds to the Sabres. The Sabres outrebounded the Inferno 47-36 on the night.

Kristen Speerschneider (New Franken, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) scored a career-high 22 points to pace four Inferno players in double figures. Hannah Galstad (Holmen, Wis.) scored 15, while Alicia Kontowski (South Milwaukee, Wis.) and Alyssa Jensen (Cudahy, Wis.) added 13 apiece.

Jensen also snagged a game-high 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.

The Inferno shot reasonably well from the field, 41 percent, but were just 5-of-18 from the 3-point arc and 22-of-32 from the free-throw line.

Alverno will close out the season in nonconference action on Friday at 1 p.m. hosting Mt. Mary College in Reiman Gymnasium. A live webcast will be available via athletics.alverno.edu.