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by Anthony Sizemore, Student Sports Reporter

Womens 4

Ariel Nickell

BOX SCORE

The Alice Lloyd Lady Eagles were back on home turf Sunday, February 23rd, to wrap up the regular season. ALC stumbled down the stretch in this contest against the Brescia Lady Bearcats, losing 87-81.

The Lady Eagles were honoring seniors Ariel Nickell and Courtney Crowder, hoping to send those two off with a victory. Alice Lloyd started the game well by taking a 13-9 lead about four minutes in. ALC was not able to pull away from Brescia, though, as the Lady Bearcats kept it close and stayed with the hosts.

ALC led 33-28 with 6:32 to go in the first half. From that point, the momentum swung in favor of the visitors as they were able to take a 36-35 advantage with four and half minutes remaining. It was back and forth between the two KIAC foes as both teams went into the locker room tied at 44.

Like the waning stages in the first half, the second half would display a seesaw battle with the lead changing hands multiple times.

ALC held a slim advantage with 14:13 to play (53-51). Back came Brescia, however, as they jumped out front (56-55) with 11:14 remaining. On the following possession, ALC recaptured the lead, making it 58-56. Alice Lloyd was able to expand their lead to six with 5:40 to go in the game (70-64), but, unfortunately, the Lady Eagles could not put their opponents away. Over the next three minutes, BU went on a major 11-2 run to take a 75-72 advantage with two and a half minutes to go. ALC reduced the deficit down to one (77-76) with a little over a minute left on the clock, but was unable to regain the lead.

Brescia gathered rebounds off of ALC’s missed shots in the final seconds and secured the victory at the charity stripe.

Alice Lloyd (17-9, 12-5) was led by Carla Booth‘s double-double of 21 points and an amazing 13 assists. Nickell produced 16 points and 12 boards in her last regular season game, while Crowder also had a solid performance with 13 points.

Amber Snydor of Brescia (8-21, 5-12 KIAC) led the field with 24 points.

As with all close contests, the difference came down to free throw shooting. Alice Lloyd made only half of its 16 attempts, while Brescia made all but five of its 38 shots from the foul line. Brescia also claimed victory in the battle of the boards, out-rebounding ALC 42-40.

Special note: Senior Ariel Nickell was also honored on this night for breaking the all-time rebounding record at Alice Lloyd College. After the Brescia game, Nickell has recorded 1,249 rebounds, which is the most rebounds for a male or female player in the history of Alice Lloyd College basketball.

With the loss, Alice Lloyd drops to #3 in the KIAC, behind league-leading Point Park and Asbury. In the first round of tournament action on Tuesday, February 25th, the Lady Eagles will have home court advantage as they take on Midway College. The game will tip at 7 PM. The winner will advance to the Final Four.