Saint Mary of the Woods, IN: Senior guard Haley Hall pumped in 20 points to lead the Alice Lloyd College Lady Eagles to a big 67-57 River States Conference victory over the home-standing Saint Mary of the Woods Lady Pomeroy’s. The regular-season ending matchup took place Saturday, February 19th.
In the opening period, defense ruled the day. Hall would sink 5 points for the visitors and ALC led 14-11 after ten minutes of action.
In the second quarter, the hosts would heat up and produce 19 points. Fortunately, for the Caney Creek faithful, 9 Hall points would allow her club to take the period 20-19, and extend their advantage to 34-30 at intermission.
As the third period began, SMW would tighten up on the defensive end and turn to guard Abby Worley on offense. Her squad opened on a 16-6 burst and led 46-40 with 2:53 remaining.
Thankfully, Alice Lloyd would answer with center Alexandria Clifton who scored half of her team’s 12 points as they punched back with a 12-0 run. Her effort would enable the Pippa Passes ladies to lead 52-46 at the horn.
In the final stanza, solid defense from the Kentucky girls would hold the Lady Pomeroy’s scoreless until the 5:34 mark.
ALC turned once more to Clifton, who opened with back-to-back buckets, and she was followed by a hoop from freshman forward Kenzie Maynard that pushed the score to 58-56. The hosts would battle, but the Lady Eagles would slam the door shut on the critical victory.
For Alice Lloyd (18-8;11-6), Hall drilled 14-16 free throws to lead all scorers with 20 points. She added 6 rebounds and 3 steals.
Clifton reached double figures with 12 points and added 6 rebounds and 3 blocks while Maynard chipped in with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Freshman forward Madison Thompson led the way with 8 boards.
The Caney Club finished shooting 36.5% (19-52) from the field and 36.4% (4-11) from long range. They connected on 78.1% (25-32) from the charity line, while adding 46 rebounds, 12 assists, 9 steals, and 10 blocks.
SMW (11-13; 5-12) was paced by Worley with 12 points. Her squad finished shooting 27.6% (21-76) from the field and 42.9% (6-14) from behind the arc. They sank 69.2% (9-13) from the foul line., and added 45 rebounds, 16 assists, and 9 steals.
The Lady Eagles are now preparing for the River States Conference Tournament. They have earned the 3rd seed in the East Division and will open play on Wednesday, February 23rd when they travel to Richmond, Indiana, to face the 2nd seed from the Western Division, Indiana University East. Tipoff is set for 5:30 pm.