by Gary Stepp
The Alice Lloyd Lady Eagles traveled to Barbourville, KY to participate in the challenging two-day Union Bulldog Classic over the weekend. Below are recaps of each contest.
ALC-70; UNION-80
The hosts Bulldogs jumped to a nine point halftime lead and withstood an Eagle comeback attempt to hold on for the win.
In the opening half, UC raced out to a 43-34 lead behind steady shooting. In the second half, the Eagles found their rhythm and began to eat into the lead. They reduced the deficit to 53-50 on a three-pointer by Amber Shepherd with 14:51 left in the game. The next few minutes saw Alice Lloyd and Union exchange baskets before the hosts pulled ahead once more. Refusing to fold, ALC made one last run as they would get within 65-62 on two Carla Booth free throws. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs would connect on some free throws to ice the contest.
For the visitors (4-7), Booth would toss in a game-high 24 points, 20 of those in second stanza. Serena Nickell added 16 points while hauling down 6 rebounds.
The victors (6-3) were led by Lydia Nash with 23.
The Eagles outscored the Bulldogs 35-22 in bench points, but UC controlled the paint 24-16., and the glass 48-39. Alice Lloyd shot 39.7 percent (23-58) from the field while Union shot 37.7 percent (26-69) from the floor.
ALC-42; Indiana Wesleyan-89
The fifth ranked Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats demonstrated they were worthy of their lofty ranking as they dismantled the Eagles.
Indiana came out of the gates on fire at both ends of the court, and they roared to a commanding 43-20 advantage. In the second half, the Eagles were unable to mount a comeback as the Wildcats shooting only improved.
For ALC (4-8), Carla Booth and Bailey O’Brian tied with 9 points apiece as no Eagle recorded double figure scoring.
Teneil Krebs connected on a perfect 7-7 from long range to lead the Wildcats (10-2) with 21 points.
Wesleyan shot a blazing 58.9-percent (33 of 56) in the game and 57.9-percent (11 of 19) from 3-point range. IWU hit 17 of 27 shots in the second half for an impressive 63.0-percent rate.
On the contrary, ALC shot a chilly 32% (17-53) and connected on just 14% (2-14) from beyond the arc.
The Eagles return to action on January 3rd as they usher in the New Year with an important conference matchup with the Carlow Celtics. Tipoff is scheduled for 1pm.