The Alice Lloyd College Lady Eagles played two important conference games over the weekend as they focus on improving their standing for the upcoming KIAC Conference Tournament. Eagles Coach John Mills had to feel good after seeing his club come out on top in both contests. With the two wins, ALC insures themselves of an opening round home matchup when postseason play begins. Following are recaps of both contests.  

FEBRUARY 3

ALC 100

St. Louis College of Pharmacy 22

In a contest held on a neutral floor at Asbury University in Wilmore, KY, Alice Lloyd scored the first thirty points of the game on their way to a decisive win over the Eutectics. At intermission, their advantage was 42 (54-12). In the second half Coach Mills continued to freely use his bench as his team maintained their torrid shooting against St. Louis, outscoring them 46-10.

Gabbard led the Lady Eagles vs STLCOP.

For ALC (8-18, 5-3 KIAC), senior Bailey Gabbard connected on 6-10 from behind the arc in scoring a game high 24 points. She was followed closely by sophomores Ariel Nickell and Courtney Crowder with 21 and 18 points, respectively. Senior guard Sarah Burchell dished off a career high 10 assists and tied Nickell by swiping a game high 6 steals. Nickell also added 7 rebounds, another game high. For the game, Alice Lloyd shot a scintillating 61.5% from the field (40-65). This includes 52.9% (9-17) from beyond the arc. For good measure, they also shot 84.6% (11-13) from the charity stripe. With the loss, STLCOP sees their record fall to 0-15 (0-4 KIAC).  

FEBRUARY 4

ALC 66

Midway 59

Nickell was unstoppable vs Midway.

It was “the Ariel Nickell show” as the sophomore star poured in 35 points and hauled down 13 rebounds to lead the Eagles to the big home win, thus avenging an earlier loss at Midway earlier this season. In the opening stanza, ALC came out of the gate strong and quickly took the lead. Their lead was 14 (23-9) with 7:52 remaining. Midway fought back, however, and closed the half on a 16-7 run to cut the deficit to five (30-25) at intermission. In the second half, Alice Lloyd rode the play of Nickell to maintain their slim lead. Midway fought to the wire, led by their fine guard Whitney Odom, but they were never able to get closer than four points over the game’s final 10:00. For ALC (9-18, 6-3 KIAC), in addition to Nickell’s big outburst, Coach Mills also received a nice effort from Sarah Burchell who chipped in 9 points, handed out 4 assists, and collected 5 big steals. Freshman Chelsea Brown also played well, as the forward chipped in 8 points. Senior center Nikki Durman (pictured at left), who was recognized before the game along with her family, gave some excellent defensive minutes and also ripped down 7 rebounds of her own. Odom led Midway (4-20, 2-6 KIAC) with 22 points.