Alexandria Clifton
PIPPA PASSES, KY: The Alice Lloyd College Lady Eagles roared out to an 18 point first quarter lead and used it to defeat the visiting Carlow University Lady Celtics 78-66 on Thursday, January 25.
In the opening period, the hosts came out of the gates red hot. Sparked by 8 points from freshman Alexandria Clifton, the hosts sprinted ahead 25-7. The Celtics closed the period with six straight points, but ALC led 25-13 at the horn.
In the second stanza, the visitors tightened up on defense and worked their way back into contention. CU would slice the score to 32-26 before the Lady Eagles received back-to-back triples from junior guard Courtney Vasquez and freshman forward Makayla Akers. Their club would take a 38-29 advantage into the locker room at intermission.
In the third quarter, the visitors would quickly get within four (38-34) before the girls from Caney Creek decided they had seen enough. Over the next six minutes, powered by the force of five trifectas, ALC would go on a 17-4 spurt. When the dust had settled, the score was suddenly 55-38. The Lady Eagles led 59-45 at quarters end.
In the final ten minutes, the lead would be extended to 19 points, and the home squad was never threatened again.
For ALC (15-3; 9-2 RSC), they were led in scoring by Clifton with 21 points and 6 rebounds. The big center sank 7-11 field goals and 4-8 bombs. She was joined in double figures by freshman guard Haley Hall with 13 points and Vasquez with 11. Senior guard Kayla Wilson added 9 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds while junior center Emilie Harrell led in steals with 5. Akers snared 6 rebounds of her own.
The victors connected on 43.8% (28-64)from the field including 43.6% (17-39) from long range. They hit 83.3% (5-6) from the foul line and added 34 rebounds, 23 assists, and 9 steals.
The Celtics ( 4-12; 1-8) were led by the excellent performance of Emma Stille with 24 points and 18 rebounds. Her club connected on 40.4% (23-57) from the field including 20% (3-15) from long range. They hit 89.5% (15-17) from the foul line and added 35 rebounds, 13 assists, and 5 steals.
Alice Lloyd returns to action this Saturday, January 27, when they host Point Park University in an important Conference matchup at 1:00 pm.