ALC Lady Eagles Basketball conclude regular season; drop last second 59-57 decision to Simmons

Pippa Passes, KY: The Alice Lloyd College Lady Eagles returned home on February 16th to close the regular season against the Simmons College Falcons. In a game that went down to the wire, the Louisville squad sank a late trifecta to pull out a 59-57 decision.

In the first period, both squads were cold from the field, but a couple of late baskets from the Flames handed them a 15-11 advantage after ten minutes of play.

In the second quarter, Alice Lloyd still had trouble connecting, but their defense limited the big-city club to just 3-16 accuracy. This was enouugh to enable the Caney Creek crew to rally and take a slight 26-23 advantage by halftime.

In the third period, the frigid conditions continued as each club shot just  26% for the stanza. However, ALC junior forward Jamie Cowan and junior guard Shelby Stewart combined for 12 points. This was enough to hand the Pippa Passes Posse a 40-35 lead heading into the final segment.

In the last stanza, the Falcons suddenly caught fire, sparked by the shooting of Kira Girton. The home team fought to hold the advantage, aided by a pair of Stewart bombs. Her last, at 2:06, gave the home team a 54-50 advantage.

Next, Simmons responded with a charity toss and bomb from Prescious Hereford to tie things at 54 with 1:19 showing.

Later, a pair of Cowan free throws gave the Lady Eagles a 56-54 edge at 1:07 before 1-2 free throws by Herford made it a 1-point game with .20 left (56-55).

SC then fouled the hosts  Kennedy Johnson at .15. She made the first, but missed the second (57-55), handing the fall back to Simmons. On the ensuing play, the Falcons found Girton who sank a timely trifecta, her only one of the night. Suddenly, the Louisville club led 58-57 with .11 ticks on the scoreboard.

The Caney Club got the ball to Stewart, but her good 18-foot attempt bounced off and was grabbed by SC. 1-2 charity tosses then made the score 59-57, SC.

The hosts had the ball in their forecourt with just under .03 remaining with a chance to tie, but they turned the rock over without getting off a shot, handing the victory to the visitors.

The difference in the cold shooting contest was Simmons shot 62% and scored 24 huge points over the final frame. This was just enough to lead them on the comeback trail.

For ALC (12-11) Stewart and Cowan were the only players to reach double-figures, with 13 and 10 points respectively. Cowan had another double-double as she snared 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard Bailey Stewart and freshman guard  Alivia Morris both had 3 assists while Bailey Stewart, Morris, and senior guard Aziah Campbell all had 2 steals.

On the day, the Lady Eagles finished shooting just 28.4% (19 67) from the field, 25% (8-32) from long-range, and 69.2% (9-13) from the charity stripe. They added 48 rebounds, 15 assists, and 16 steals.

Simmons (9-9) was led by Girton with a game-high 18 points. Her club shot 33.9% (21-62) from the field, just 15% (3-20) from long-range, and 58.3% (14-24) from the foul line. They added 52 rebounds, 11 assists and 12 steals.