Haley Hall
Pippa Passes, KY: On Wednesday, March 4th, the Alice Lloyd College Lady Eagles hosted the NCCAA Division 1 Mideast Regional Tournament. In a high-energy contest, the Lady Eagles defeated the Kentucky Christian University Lady Knights 76-68 to emerge as champions.
In the opening period, ALC looked to make short work of the Knights as they sprinted out to a 7-1 lead in just three minutes of action. However, KCU used a balanced attack to gain ground and took an 18-17 lead just before the buzzer.
In the second stanza, the Lady Eagles flexed their muscle. Sparked by a stingy defense and 7 points from junior guard Haley Hall, the home club dominated the period 21-11. By virtue of this effort, they would take a 38-29 advantage at intermission.
In the second half, ALC Coach John Mills unleashed junior Ali May. The sweet-shooting guard tickled the twines to the tune of 11 points in the opening six minutes of the third to spark her team. Later, when senior forward Mckayla Akers scored on a strong inside move with under ten ticks remaining, the home fans were ecstatic to see their squad with a commanding 59-42 advantage heading into the final period.
In the fourth, the Lady Knights tried their best to fight back, but the ladies from Caney Creek were determined not to be denied. The senior duo of guard Katie Moore and forward Jayla Spurlock got in on the fun as well as each of them made big contributions during the critical stretch to help chalk up the sweet victory for the hometown fans.
Ali May
For the Eagles (13-15), Hall paved the way with 17 points, while nabbing 7 rebounds. May came up big once again as she pumped in 13 points. Moore and Akers contributed 12 and 10 points respectively, while Spurlock chipped in with 9 points. Akers and May each dished out 2 assists while Akers also had 2 big blocks. Freshman Jasmine Ely picked off 2 steals.
Alice Lloyd shot 38.2% (26-68) from the floor and finished 29.2% (7-24) from behind the arc. They connected on 70.8% (17-24) from the foul line, and also added 47 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 6 blocks.
The Knights (16-16) were led in scoring by Savannah Anderson with 18 points. Her club finished shooting 33.8% (26-77) from the floor and 25% (6-24) from long range. They shot 71.4% (10-14) from the foul line, and also added 47 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals.
ALC is off until Wednesday, March 18th, when they travel to Winona Lake, Indiana for the NCCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship. There, they will join a field of eight elite squads and are guaranteed to play three games. The bracket will be revealed once the regional play is completed.