#7 Alice Lloyd Lady Eagles fall to #1 Oakland City Carolina University, 80-68 in NCCAA Women’s National Championship

Lady Eagles Finish Fourth, Kash selected All-Tournament

Lake Winona, IN: On March 23rd, the #7 seeded Alice Lloyd Lady Eagles faced the #1 seeded Oakland City University Lady Oaks in the third-place game of the winner's bracket in the NCCAA DI Women's National Championship. The Lady Eagles battled hard before dropping a close 89-79 decision.

In the opening stanza, both clubs came out tight as the stakes were high. Senior forward Madison Thompson would lead the Kentucky club with 5 points, and they would only trail 19-17 after ten minutes of action.

The Indiana squad came out strong in the second stanza and used their size and strength to slowly pull out to a double-digit lead. A trifecta with just 3:36 remaining set the scoreboard at 41-28, and a blowout seemed possible. At that point, the Caney Creek crew responded.

Fueled by seven points from senior guard Hannah Kash, the Lady Eagles would close on a 12-2 blitz. This would reduce the deficit to just three (43-40) entering halftime.

In the third quarter, the Pippa Passes crew would see senior forward Madison Ward score quickly to pull her club within a point (43-42). However, from there, OCU turned on the jets.

Unfortunately for the blue and white, the Oaks began to gain separation as the Bluegrass ladies turned cold. When the Indiana squad sank a charity toss with 4:29 remaining, it capped off a massive 18-1 run. Alice Lloyd now trailed 61-43, and things appeared to be over.

Once again, the Lady Eagles showed true grit as they began to battle back once more. Freshman center Emily Estes provided a big spark as she came off the bench to sink four buckets on strong post moves, while fellow freshman forward Jamie Cowan controlled the glass and bagged several free throws. The duo would account for all of the points in a 12-1 run. Suddenly, at period's end, the margin was reduced to just seven, 62-55, and momentum was now on the side of the Lady Eagles.

In the final period, Kash, Thompson, and freshman guard Abby Maggard would produce 19 points between them as their club battled intently to complete the miracle comeback. A short jumper from Thompson would get her squad within five points (70-65) as the clock went below the midway point.

To their credit, however, Oakland City would manage to roll off a 12-3 run, and finally put the contest out of reach. ALC would get no closer than eight the rest of the way as the season came to an end.

For Alice Lloyd (13-19), Kash closed her brilliant career by finishing with a game-high 25 points on 8-22 field goals and 8-11 free throws. She added 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. For her outstanding tournament play, she was named to the five-player All-Tournament squad.

In addition, Maggard contributed 11 points, while Estes sank 5-6 attempts for 10 points.

Cowan added 8 points and 9 rebounds, while Thompson scored 6 points and grabbed 7 boards. Cowan and Ward both recorded 2 steals.

The Eastern Kentucky team finished shooting 38.6% (27-70) from the field and 17.9 (5-28) from long range. They also sank 83.3% (20-24) from the foul line while adding 40 rebounds, 14 assists, 1 block and 8 steals.

Jalaya Dowell was one of five Oaks to finish in double figures, leading the way with 19 points. Her squad finished shooting 47.1% (33-70) from the field, 33.3% (5-15) from behind the arc, and 78.3% (18-23) from the charity stripe. They also added 44 rebounds, 15 assists, 1 block and 13 steals.

 Alice Lloyd concludes their season with a 13-19 mark and will lose the services of Kash, Thompson, Ward, Hannah Malcomson, and Riley Schreck to graduation. However, Coach John Mills does not have a bare cupboard as several players who were out with injuries this year will return to join a strong returning group. With the new freshman recruits, ALC will look to be in the hunt once again in 2024-25.