Eagles survive battle with ALC, advance to second round of RSC Women's Basketball tourney

MIDWAY, Ky. - It wasn't always pretty, but the Midway women's basketball team made enough plays to extend its season Monday night.

Kassidy Daugherty scored 12 of her team-high 18 points in a fourth quarter where she hit two big 3-pointers, as the eighth-seeded Eagles outlasted their nickname counterpart, ninth-seeded Alice Lloyd, 73-68 in the first round of the River States Conference Tournament.

After a fast start, the Midway offense hit a wall in the second quarter. The Eagles started 0-for-12 from 3-point range and missed nine consecutive shots at one point, which allowed Alice Lloyd to build up a 44-35 lead a little over a minute into the third quarter.

But shots would eventually start falling, as Jaiden Douthit hit two triples in a 55-second stretch, which cut the lead to 48-47.

Midway took the lead back 58-57 on a pair of Daugherty free throws a minute into the final period before both offenses went ice cold. For more than four minutes, a single Alice Lloyd free throw was the only point.

But with 5:03 to play, things started to turn. Sereniti Webb made a layup while being fouled to give Midway a 60-58 lead, before Bree Howard converted an old-fashioned 3-point play on the ensuing possession to push the lead to five.

Leading 63-61 with 3:32 to go, Daugherty got an open look from behind the 3-point line a drained it. Alice Lloyd responded with a 3 of its own, only for Daugherty to connect on another open shot from deep, keeping the lead at five points, 69-64.

The visitors would twice more get within three, only for Daugherty and Howard to go a combined 4-for-4 from the foul line in the final 20 seconds to ice the game.

While the offense was finding its rhythm, the defense kept the Eagles in the game by containing one of the country's best scorers.

ALC guard Hannah Kash entered the night eighth in the NAIA in scoring at 22.8 points per game. Though Kash did get 16 Monday, she needed 14 shots to get there, as Midway often sent a defender to tail her the entire length of the court, regardless if she had the ball.

The defensive star was Jermyra Christian, who recorded six steals to go along with 14 points and five assists. Howard (12) and Douthit (10), also finished in double figures, while Webb had eight rebounds for the Eagles, who have now won their last five home games in the RSC Tournament.

The win gives Midway the task of traveling to face top-seeded Rio Grande (Ohio) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in a rematch of the last two RSC Championship games. 

The Red Storm, who are ranked 18th nationally, are coming off their first conference loss of the season on Saturday, when they fell 84-65 at Shawnee State.