PIPPA PASSES – Grayson native and Lady Eagles senior guard Haley Hall earned her 2,000th career point last week when she and junior guard Hannah Kash used their marksmanship to help defeat the West Virginia Tech Lady Golden Bears, 86-78, scoring a combined 52 points for the homestanding Alice Lloyd College team. The River States Conference matchup took place Thursday, January 20.
In the opening period, ALC played solid ball that saw Hall come out and knock down eight points to propel her squad to a 25-12 advantage after ten minutes of action. In the second quarter, despite Hall adding nine more points to her tally, Tech would heat up to the tune of 27 points. Still, the score read 47-39 ALC at intermission. As the third period began, the two clubs would match buckets. Kash would pump in half of her team’s 18 points and the Lady Eagles would maintain a 65-56 cushion heading into the final stanza.
In the last ten minutes, any hopes the Golden Bears had of a big comeback were thwarted. Forced to foul, they witnessed perfect 12-12 free throw shooting from the home team as Coach John Mills saw his club hold on for the important victory.
For Alice Lloyd (12-5; 5-3 RSC), Kash drained 9-10 free throws and 4-10 bombs to lead all scorers with 27 points, with 22 coming in the decisive second half. She added three rebounds, two steals, and four assists to the tally as well. Hall performed brilliantly also as she drained 5-8 trifectas and 8-11 free throws to finish with 25 points. She also led everyone with five assists and added five rebounds. Freshman forward Madison Thompson contributed 11 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks while senior center Alexandria Clifton chipped in with ten points and eight boards.
The Caney Club finished shooting 41.7% (25-60) from the field and 35.7% (10-28) from long range. They connected on 81.3% (26-32) from the charity line, while adding 43 rebounds, 19 assists, and two steals.
WVT (8-13; 6-4 RSC) was paced by Brianna Ball with 22 points. Her squad finished shooting 36.8% (27-71) from the field and 23.8% (5-21) from behind the arc. They sank 73.1% (19-26) from the foul line., and added 42 rebounds, 12 assists, and six steals