Select Page

Alice Lloyd College sophomore forward Ariel Nickell pumped in 18 points and ripped down 16 rebounds to lift the Alice Lloyd College Lady Eagles to a convincing 83-74 victory over the KIAC’s only undefeated club, the Asbury University Eagles, last night. The big conference showdown took place at the Grady Nutt Athletic Center.

In the opening half, both squads battled hard. Asbury took their largest lead of the game at 16-11 with 12:09 remaining, but ALC fought back to take a 40-37 lead at intermission.

Alice Lloyd opened the second half on a 16-6 run in the first eight minutes, jumping out to a 56-46 lead. AU, showing why they were undefeated in league play, fought back to reduce the deficit to just six (69-63) with 4:00 remaining.

On the host’s next possession, Nickell drained a huge jumper from 15 feet. Alice Lloyd then iced the contest by sinking 8 free throws over the last three minutes.

For the victorious Eagles (6-17, 3-2 KIAC), in addition to Nickell’s big effort, Coach John Mills saw four other ladies reach double-figure scoring.

Freshman Chelsea Brown came off the bench to score 13 points and a record 3 steals, while scrappy senior point guard Sarah Burchell tossed in 12 points and did an excellent job of controlling the game.

Sophomore Courtney Crowder also filled the stat sheet as she added 10 points and pulled down 10 rebounds of her own. In addition, she dished out a game high 4 assists.

Senior Bailey Gabbard got in on the action by collecting 10 points, including two field goals from behind the arc. Mills also got a nice effort from freshman Carla McDaniel, as she contributed 7 points and 8 rebounds before fouling out.

Asbury (11-10, 4-1 KIAC) was led by Trenia Barbee with 18 points.

For the game, ALC shot 40% to AU’s 42%. Alice Lloyd hit 24-32 (75%) from the charity stripe while Asbury hit 17 free throws in 31 attempts (54.8%).

ALC dominated the all-important board war, however, as they out-rebounded their guests 52-32.