Emory, VA: The Alice Lloyd College Lady Eagles came through with a big defensive effort and defeated the homestanding Emory & Henry Lady Wasps on the road 74-54. The non-conference matchup was played in Virginia on Tuesday, December 15th.
The Lady Eagles had defeated the NCAA DII Lady Wasps on December 2nd in Pippa Passes, 69-58, so they knew they would be in for a dogfight as the rematch would be on the road.
Fortunately, in the opening period, ALC senior center Alexandria Clifton was unstoppable as she swished a wide array of shots to the tune of 14 points. Due to her blazing play, ALC would lead 18-15 after ten minutes of action.
In the second quarter, Clifton would get help on offense, but the big difference occurred on the opposite side of the court. Stingy defense by the Pippa Passes gals would limit the Wasps to only 9-period points. The visitors would produce 23 of their own and lead 41-24 at intermission.
As the third period began, E&H would look to make a game of things and open the stanza with 6 quick points to shave the deficit to 41-30 at the 8:22 mark. Little did the hometown fans know that their club would never get closer again.
On the very next ALC possession, senior guard Ali May would swish a trifecta to bump the lead back to 14 (44-30). Her bomb would steady the ship, and the Kentucky squad would lead 58-39 entering the last quarter.
In the final ten minutes, the Pippa Passes posse would refuse to give Emory & Henry any hope as they held their advantage until the final buzzer sounded. The impressive showing would be a nice way to close out the 2021 portion of the season.
For the victors (9-4), two players would reach double-figures. They were led on the night by Clifton who led all scorers with 21 points (9-13 FG; 3-5 3FG). She added 7 rebounds. Senior guard Haley Hall chipped in with 14 points and 6 rebounds.
Sophomore forward Madison Thompson hauled down a game-high 10 rebounds and May joined her classmate, guard Hanna Kash with 3 assists each. In addition, Clifton, Kash, Thompson, and senior center Bailee Brainard all nabbed 2 steals
The Caney Club finished shooting 37.9% (25-66) from the field and 21.7% (5-23) from long range. They connected on 79.2% from the charity line (19-24), while adding 51 rebounds, 16 assists, 10 steals, and 6 blocks.
E&H (3-7) was paced by Alexis Hoppers with 11 points. Her squad finished shooting just 26.2% (26-61) from the field and 10% (2-20) from behind the arc. From the foul line, they finished 83.3% (20-24). They also added 39 rebounds, 8 assists, and 7 steals.
The Lady Eagles are now off until they ring in the new hoops year on January 5th, when they journey to face the University of Campbellsville-Harrodsburg Lady Pioneers in a 3:00 pm tipoff.