Alice Lloyd Lady Eagles win NCCAA DI Women’s Basketball Mideast Region Championship, defeat Asbury University 69-63
Lady Eagles now advance to NCCAA DI National Championship
Wilmore, KY: On March 7th, the #2 seeded Alice Lloyd Lady Eagles journeyed to Wilmore, Kentucky to face the red-hot, and #1 seeded Asbury University Lady Eagles in the championship game of the NCCAA Mideast Regional Tournament. With a national-tournament berth on the line, the Eastern-Kentucky ladies would combine impressive defense with a strong second-half offensive effort, to win a come-from-behind 69-63 road victory.
These two squads always seem to have titanic battles when they meet on the hardwood, and this time was no exception. Asbury, the defending Mideast Regional champs, had won both regular season contests this year. They took the first round on January 9th, 65-60, then took the second round on January 30th, 71-54. The purple and white entered this contest on a 11-game winning streak, not having lost since December 30th.
In the opening stanza, both squads were tight early. ALC was limited to just 5 points in 8:02, all provided by senior guard Hannah Kash, and would trail 11-5. Freshman forward Jamie Cowan would sink a pair of short jumpers for the blue and white to close the segment, but Asbury would extend their lead to 15-7 by periods end.
As poor as they shot in the first ten minutes, the Caney Creek crew caught fire in the next segment. Kash pumped in 8 quick points in four minutes to give her squad their first lead of the night, 24-23. However, by 2:58, AU had rolled off a 11-2 run to pull back ahead, 34-26. The central Kentucky club appeared ready to blow the game open.
At this important juncture, the Pippa Passes crew rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Freshman guard Kennedy Harville, Kash and junior guard Katie Jo Moore promptly scored 8 quick points. Then, after senior guard Riley Schreck promptly swished a trifecta, the game was tied at 37-37.
Even though a late pair of free throws gave the Wilmore team a 39-37 advantage heading into intermission, ALC went into the locker room with the momentum, having shot 52.9% in the period, including 5-7 from long range.
In the third period, Alice Lloyd tightened up the screws on defense and held the high-scoring home team to just 2-13 accuracy. On offense, Moore would catch fire, pumping in 8 consecutive points to start the stanza, and swishing 11 during the segment. This flurry would give her club a 52-46 cushion entering the championship minutes.
In the final period, with the game on the line, Asbury put up a tremendous battle. When the hosts Celia Pelfrey connected on a driving layup at 3:46, it gave her squad a 62-61 lead. The home fans sensed victory.
To their dismay, the Caney Creek ladies refused to cooperate and fought back. At 3:31, Cowan would draw a foul, and coolly swish both charity tosses to give the guests the advantage (63-62).
Next, after Asbury went 1-2 from the line to retie the game at 63, Cowan made a pretty spin-move in the paint for a big hoop (65-63). Then after another impressive defensive stop, Moore would slice through the defense for a pull-up 15-foot jumper (67-63).
Finally, after another one-and-done due to rock-solid defense. ALC put the contest away. After moving the ball to kill precious time, Cowan then fed a cutting Kash slicing into the paint. The guards ten-foot jumper was the dagger that put Asbury away for good, 69-63, and sealed the deal on the championship.
For Alice Lloyd (12-17), Moore would finish with a game-high 21 points on 8-15 shooting, including 5-8 from long range. She added 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Kash was right behind with 20 points, on 8-17 field goals and 2-6 from deep. She added 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
Cowan delivered 11 points on 4-7 accuracy, including 4 points in crunch time. She also nabbed 4 rebounds. In addition, senior forward Madison Thompson led the way with 6 caroms and 2 blocks while fellow senior Madison Ward added 4 more boards to the cause
The eastern Kentucky team finished shooting 45.6% (26-57) from the field and 45.5 (10-22) from long range. They also sank 50% (7-14) from the foul line while adding 28 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 blocks and 5 steals.
Pelfrey paced the home team (18-8) with 14 points. Her squad finished shooting 31.7% (21-66) from the field, 28.1% (9-32) from behind the arc, and 56% (14-25) from the charity stripe. They also added 38 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 blocks and 6 steals
To demonstrate how impressive their second-half play was, Alice Lloyd managed to hold Asbury to just 25.8% shooting (8-31) while connecting on 48.1% (13-27) themselves. This would prove to be the difference in the game.
This makes the third time in the last four years that ALC will advance to the NCCAA DI Women's National Championship. The big event will take place on March 20th-23rd in Winona Lake, Indiana.
The Alice Lloyd fans now have double-the-excitement as the ladies will be joined at the nationals by their male counterparts, who recently defeated the Asbury Eagles to win the DI Men's Mideast Regional Tournament.