PITTSBURGH, PA: The Alice Lloyd Lady Eagles traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, over the weekend for two important River States Conference matchups. The ladies took the first contest but suffered a tough loss in overtime in the second. Below are recaps of each contest.
January 25
ALC Lady Eagles – 63
Carlow Celtics – 56
Alex Clifton
For the second consecutive game, the Lady Eagles overcame a double-digit first-half deficit to earn the big comeback victory. This time, they defeated the home-standing Carlow University Lady Celtics, 63-56. The match-up was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Friday.
In the opening period, the home club jumped out to a 13-6 lead before ALC closed the stanza on an 11-4 run. The visitors would take a slim 17-16 advantage after one.
In the second quarter, the Lady Eagles went stone-cold, as they would only produce five points the entire segment.
The Lady Celtics used this to their advantage and began to feed their top scorer Emma Stille, who would lead the way and help give her squad a comfortable 33-22 advantage at intermission.
Once again, Alice Lloyd mentor Coach John Mills would need to motivate his squad for the second half.
In the third period, the Lady Eagles would heed the words of their veteran coach and play inspired ball.
On the defensive end, they tightened up the screws and held CU to just 10 points. On offense, the club did a good job of moving the ball, which provided instant success. As a result, Alice Lloyd would regain the lead and take a 47-42 edge entering the final frame.
In the last quarter, the hosts would battle furiously and reduce the deficit to just one (52-51) with 4:38 remaining.
Fortunately, at this critical juncture, ALC remained calm.
Sophomore center Alexandria Clifton would sink a clutch jumper in the paint, then watch her teammates swish 6-7 free throws. They would also hold Carlow without a field goal and give up just two charity tosses the remainder of the night to sew up the win.
For the victors (12-6; 8-3 RSC), Clifton would lead the way with 14 points and 3 blocks. She added 6 rebounds. She was joined in double-digits by freshman guard Hannah Kash with 10 points. Junior guard Katie Moore led the squad with 8 rebounds. Six different players had 2 steals apiece.
Alice Lloyd won despite shooting just 32.8% from the field (21-64) and a woeful 10.9% (3-29) from deep. They also sank just 60% of their free throws (18-30). Additionally, they had 54 big rebounds, 10 assists, and 14 important steals.
CU (8-14; 3-7 RSC) was led by Stille with 19 points. Her club was limited to just 26.9% (18-67) field goal shooting and 29.6% (8-27) from long range. They connected on 66.7% (12-18) of their charity tosses. They also had 48 big rebounds, 14 assists, and 14 steals.
January 26 (Overtime)
ALC Lady Eagles – 83
Point Park Pioneers – 88
Haley Hall
The Lady Eagles put up a tough fight, but free throws would prove the deciding factor as they came up on the short end of the stick in suffering a tough 88-83 overtime loss at the hands of the Point Park Lady Pioneers.
In the opening period, the two squads would battle each other from the tipoff before ALC managed to take a 22-17 advantage after one.
In the second quarter, the Lady Eagles would utilize the play of sophomore guard Haley Hall and slowly pull out to a ten point advantage (29-19). Although the Lady Pioneers would rally behind the play of center Samantha Weir to slice into the deficit, ALC managed to hold a 39-32 advantage at intermission.
In the third period, PPU would rely on the inside play of Weir along with the outside shooting of Kaitlin Smith. At the buzzer, ALC’s lead had been reduced to three, 55-52.
In the last quarter, the hosts would battle intently and finally take a four-point lead (64-60) at 6:02. Fortunately, the visitors refused to fold and remained close.
Eventually, with just .24 seconds left and trailing 74-72, Lady Eagle guard Courtney Vazquez would come up with a huge steal and bucket to tie the score at 74 apiece.
Point Park would get one last shot to win in regulation, but ALC sophomore forward Makayla Akers blocked the last second attempt, and the contest headed to overtime.
Unfortunately, in the extra stanza, PPU would grab the lead and never relinquish it. With the home club nursing a slim 81-80 edge and 1:20 on the clock, Smith would proceed to score six consecutive points to give the Lady Pioneers an insurmountable lead.
For the visitors (12-7; 8-4 RSC), Hall would lead the way with 22 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals. She was joined in double-digits by junior guard Katie Moore and sophomore center Alex Clifton, each with 11 points. Akers ruled the boards as she hauled down 11.
On the day, Alice Lloyd shot 38.8% from the field (31-80) and 30.4% (7-23) from deep. Additionally, they had 54 big rebounds, 14 assists, and 7 steals.
The Pioneers (10-13; 6-6 RSC) was led by a monster game from Weir, who finished with 31 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Smith added 25 points. Their club shot 40.6% from the field (26-64) and 25% (5-20) from deep. Additionally, they had 41 rebounds, 12 assists, and 10 steals.
The game was decided at the free throw line. PPU finished 31-45 for 68.9% while the Lady Eagles only had 16 attempts, sinking 14 of them for a solid 87.5%.
Alice Lloyd returns to the hardwood on Tuesday, January 29th, when the Indiana University Southeast Lady Grenadiers come to Pippa Passes for a contest with big conference implications. Tipoff is set for 5:30 pm.