The Alice Lloyd Lady Eagles traveled to Indiana over the weekend to face two conference opponents, the Indiana University Southeast Lady Grenadiers and the Indiana University Kokomo Lady Cougars. The Eagles dropped the opening match-up on Saturday before earning a big win on Sunday.
January 30
ALC- 55; IUS- 78
Led by guard Annie Thomas, the hosts jumped out to a 26-11 lead after one quarter of play as the Eagles came out of the gates cold.
In the second quarter, ALC tightened their defense, limiting IUS to 11 points. Backed by two Megan Jones trifectas, the Eagles had reduced the score to 37-25 by intermission.
Any hopes of a comeback were crushed by the Grenadiers in the third quarter as they dominated the ten minute period 23-9. They led by a comfortable 60-36 cushion entering the final stanza and held on for the win.
For Alice Lloyd (8-13; 3-8 KIAC), sophomore Taylor Arthur was the only player to reach double figures as she led the way with 10 points. Senior Jones and Whitney Evans each added 8. Arthur led with 6 rebounds while the freshman Evans handed off 2 assists.
Thomas led IUS (10-9; 7-3 KIAC) with a game high 22 points.
January 31
ALC- 63; IUK- 54
Sophomore guard Bailey O’ Bryan came off the bench and tossed in a season high 15 points to lead the Alice Lloyd Eagles to a huge come-from-behind victory over the home standing Cougars.
In the first quarter, the game looked to become a repeat of the 84-58 beat down the Cougars had administered to the host Eagles on January 9th.
Incredibly, the visitors did not hit a field goal in the first quarter until sophomore Sara Robinson connected with .51 seconds on the clock. Alice Lloyd trailed 12-4 after one quarter and hit just 1-14 from the floor.
In desperate need of a spark, ALC Coach John Mills saw his bench give a major boost. Led by 8 points from his reserves, the visitors opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run to tie the score at 14 on a long range bomb from India Hairston James at 7:30. From that point, the two clubs battled evenly. When Eagle senior guard Megan Jones trained a three at the 0.24 mark, the score stood 24-24 at intermission.
In the crucial third quarter, IUK opened strong by outscoring their guests 16-7 over the first 7 minutes and led 40-31 with 2:54 showing. Rather than concede the game, the Lady Eagles showed their grit once more. O’Bryan scored 5 quick points and the girls from Pippa Passes closed on an 11-2 run. They tied the score at 42 on a bucket by the freshman James with 2 seconds remaining.
After coming back twice in the game from solid deficits, Alice Lloyd was determined to turn the tables on IU Kokomo. They clamped down on defense and outscored the frustrated Cougars 15-4 over the first 7 minutes to take a commanding 57-46 lead. They sealed the deal by sinking 10-14 from the charity stripe when Kokomo was forced to foul.
For the victors (9-13; 4-8 KIAC), O’Bryan led a balanced attack with 15 points. Junior Amber Shepherd joined James with 13 apiece. Sophomore Taylor Arthur chipped in with 10 points and joined Shepherd as they each snared 11 rebounds. O’Bryan led in assists with 3.