Alex Clifton
Pippa Passes, KY: The Alice Lloyd College Lady Eagles gave Coach John Mills a relaxing evening of basketball as his team downed the visiting Asbury University Eagles in stunning fashion, 83-53. The River States Conference matchup took place on Thursday, February 1.
In the opening quarter, nothing looked further from the actual outcome as AU hung tough and led by 4 points (13-9) at the 3:54 mark, partly due to the guest’s inspired play and partly due to host’s poor shooting. ALC was fortunate to stay close and tied the score at 20-20 on a late bucket from junior center Emilie Harrell with .08.
In the second stanza, the game became a reversal of fortunes as Alice Lloyd would open the period like a totally different ball club. When junior guard Courtney Vasquez drilled the squad’s fourth long-bomb of the period with 4:31 showing, it capped off a stunning 16-0 run. Suddenly, the girls from Caney led 36-20 as the crowd went wild. After the visitors finally dented the scoreboard at the 3:28 mark, the hosts would close the period on an 8-1 spurt to take a commanding 44-23 lead at intermission.
As the third period began, Alice Lloyd was determined not to give their guests any glimmer of a comeback. ALC would remain clicking on all cylinders as they used a 13-2 run to increase their lead to 57-25 with 4:50 still remaining. Incredibly, over a fifteen-minute span, the hosts had produced a 37-5 run that was impressive to watch. They would enter the final quarter with a 66-31 cushion.
In the last stanza, the margin would grow to as much as 38 points as Coach Mills had the luxury of rotating his entire team freely over the course of the game. All girls were able to nearly see double-digit minutes, as the play off the bench nearly equaled that of the starting group. The huge victory was definitely a total team effort.
For West Division leader Alice Lloyd (17-4; 11-3 RSC), freshman center Alexandria Clifton led all scorers with 14 points while Harrell and Vasquez also reached double figures with12 apiece. Senior guard Miranda Wilson added 11 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals while twin-sister Kayla Wilson chipped in with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Freshman guard Hope Kelly led in rebounds with 6 while Harrell swatted 2 shots.
Alice Lloyd finished shooting 40.3% (31-77) from the field including 38.2% (13-34) from long range. They connected on 72.7% (8-11) from the foul line. They also added 46 rebounds, 21 assists, and 12 steals.
For West Division foe AU (5-19; 2-11 RSC), guard Haley Ramey was the only player to reach double-figures with 12 points. Her club shot just 25.7% (18-70) from the floor and a frigid 16.7% (3-18) from behind the arc. They sank 63.6% (14-22) from the foul line. They also added 46 rebounds, 7 assists, and 10 steals.
ALC returns to conference action next week for a major matchup Tuesday at West Division second-place Indiana University Southeast. Tipoff is set for 5:30 pm.