Pippa Passes: The Alice Lloyd Lady Eagles put up a good fight but eventually succumbed to The Rio Grande University Lady Red Storm 65-56 last night.
In the opening quarter, ALC got a jump start from quick-silver guard Tailor Morgan, who scored the first 5 points of the game. The Eagles would control the period, and lead at the buzzer, 13-9.
The second quarter turned into a stalemate as the two squads took turn trading buckets for the entire period. When Alice Lloyd freshman Andrea Rankin sank a bank shot with .03 remaining, she gave the hosts a 28-26 lead at intermission.
In the third stanza, the Red Storm began to utilize their size advantage and pound the ball inside. Sparked by 5’11 forward Sara Boner, the visitors opened on an 18-7 run to take a 44-35 lead with 3:05 remaining. They would hold a 48-42 advantage as the period came to an end.
In the final quarter, the Lady Eagles fought valiantly to come back. When Morgan and junior Amber Shepherd drained back-to-back bombs, the Rio lead was reduced to just 2 (52-50) with 5:01 remaining. The contest, once more, was anybody’s for the taking.
Unfortunately for the home crowd, the Red Storm would sink two buckets to get a needed cushion. RG’s Boner then drained 5-6 from the charity stripe in the closing minute to keep the Eagles at bay.
Alice Lloyd (11-15; 6-10 KIAC) was led by Morgan, who played a solid game to finish with 15 points on 4-8 field goals 93-4) from three point range) and 4-4 free throws. She was the only Eagle to reach double figures.
Offensively, the remainder of the Eagle players could not get anything to drop as they shot a combined 7-34 from the floor and sank just 27.9% for the game. It is a testament to the club that, despite the field goal woes, the hustle and grit the ladies demonstrated allowed them to still almost pull the victory out of the bag.
Shepherd and senior Megan Jones each added 8 points apiece while sophomore Sara Robinson hauled down a game high 13 rebounds.
Rio Grande (17-8; 10-4 KIAC), which shot 35.5% from the field, was led by Boner with a game high 21 points; this included a devastating 13-15 from the foul line.