Pippa Passes, KY: The Alice Lloyd College Lady Eagles unleashed a monstrous 46-23 second-half burst and used that momentum to take down a solid Indiana University-Kokomo Cougar squad, 81-47. The River States Conference matchup was played Sunday, February 6th.
In the opening period, ALC would use great balance as six players dented the scorebook. This enabled the hosts to lead 16-9 after ten minutes of action. In the second quarter, senior center Alex Clifton produced 6 of her club’s 19 points. A 19-15 advantage permitted the Pippa Passes squad to take a 35-24 lead into intermission.
As the third period began, the Lady Eagles would ramp up their defense and hold Kokomo to 2-16 field-goal shooting. In the meantime, the balance of ALC saw 7 players produce points. As a result, the Kentucky squad would be in command, 55-35 entering the last quarter.
In the final ten minutes, the Caney Creek faithful would see senior guard Haley Hall pump in 9 points to ensure there would be no chance of a comeback. The Indiana squad would get no closer as 8 individual Lady Eagles would combine for 26 points to do the damage and seal the deal on an eye-opening performance.
For the victors (15-6; 8-4 RSC), three players would reach double-figures. They were led on the night by Hall with 16 points. Fellow senior guard Ali May pumped in 13 while senior center Bailee Brainard chipped in with 10. Brainard led with 4 steals. Five other Lady Eagles just missed double-digits as Clifton, junior guard Hannah Kash, freshman forward Madison Thompson, freshman guard Katie Jo Moore, and freshman forward Kinzie Maynard all added 8 points. Kash led everyone with 8 assists while May added 5. Thompson was a terror on the glass as she hauled down 14 rebounds. She also rejected 4 shots.
The Caney Club finished shooting 50% (32-64) from the field and 31.8% (7-22) from long range. They connected on 71.4% from the charity line (10-14), while adding 52 rebounds, 24 assists, 7 steals, and 9 blocks.
IUK (9-12;6-8 RSC) was paced by Gabrielle Joiner with 14 points. Her squad finished shooting just 25% (16-24) from the field and 20.8% (5-24) from behind the arc. From the foul line, they finished 71.4% (10-14). They also added 33 rebounds, 11 assists, and 4 steals.
The Lady Eagles return to action with three important conference matchups this week. On Tuesday, February 8th they journey to Midway University for a 5:30 pm showdown. They then return home one day later (February 9th) for a make-up conference contest with Carlow University at 12 pm. Finally, they close the week on Saturday, February 12th at Oakland City University. Tip-off is set for 4:00 pm (EST).