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by Gary Stepp

The Alice Lloyd Lady Eagles opened the New Year by hosting two conference games over the weekend. They played the Carlow Celtics on Saturday and then faced the defending conference champion and nationally ranked Point Park Pioneers on Sunday. Below are recaps of each contest.

 

Saturday January 3rd

ALC- 73: Carlow-65

Carla Booth - Carlow

Carla Booth

 ALC overcame a 5 point deficit in the last four minutes to pull out the win. In the opening half, Lady Eagle Carla Booth kept the game close by tossing in 16 first half points, including 4 three point bombs. At intermission, the hosts were clinging to a 32-31 lead.  In the second half, sparked by Erin Disanti, the Celtics quickly established themselves and took the lead. The guests were able to control the game until the clock went below the 4:00 mark. At this juncture, sparked by big plays from Serena Nickell and Amber Shepherd, ALC was able to regain the lead, and then extended it for the nice victory.

For the victors (5-8; 1-1 KIAC) Booth led all scorers with 20 points. The senior also registered 7 big steals and 4 rebounds. Shepherd played a solid game as well as she pumped in 17 points and dished off a game high 4 assists. Nickell added 16 points and a team high 5 rebounds.

On the night, the Eagles outshot CU from the floor 46% to 42%. They also hit 9-19 from downtown (47%) compared to the Celtics 4-11 (36.4%). They also drained 16-21 from the charity stripe compared to Carlows 13-22 (59%).

For Carlow (4-4; 0-3 KIAC), Desanti tossed in 17 points.

  

Sunday January 4th

ALC- 59: Carlow-95

Serena Nickell

Serena Nickell

To have an opportunity to knock off 22nd ranked Point Park, the Lady Eagles knew they would have to play a solid game for forty minutes. Unfortunately, the visitors pulled away in the last fifteen minutes to blow the game wide open.

The contest started out well for the home club as they jumped out quickly to a lead. Each time PPU would make a run, the hosts would respond with a big bucket to maintain their advantage. Leading by four (34-30) with 3:29 remaining, ALC’s Carla Booth picked up her second foul and was forced to exit the game with her 12 points. With the Eagle’s leading scorer on the bench, the Pioneers would close the half on an 18-1 run, and go into intermission ahead by 13 (48-35).

In the final stanza, ALC would slice the margin to ten (54-44). Unfortunately, a series of turnovers sparked the visitors on a 10-0 run and put them ahead 64-44; they were never threatened again.

For Alice Lloyd (5-9; 1-2 KIAC), Booth led the way with 20 points. Serena Nickell and Amber Shepherd added 10 apiece, while Carla McDaniel chipped in 9. Nickell led all players with 10 rebounds.

On the night, the Eagles shot 34% from the floor and hit 5-20 from downtown, compared to the Pioneers 43% and 10-26 from beyond the arc. They also drained 10-18 (55.6%) from the charity stripe compared to PPU’S 21-32 (65.6%).

Point Park (12-2; 1-1 KIAC) was led by Ja’Nia McPhatter with 22 points.