January 10, 2009

Ardmore, PA – The Lower Merion girls’ basketball team is off to a stellar start in the New Year as they have won three straight conference games following a sixteen day lay-off.  The Aces now stand at 10-1 on the season and 6-0 in Central League play. 

 

Lower Merion got off to a slow start at Strath Haven on Wednesday, January 7 due in large part to nine first half turnovers that led to 13 points for the Panthers.

 

 Leading 33-30 after three quarters, the Aces turned up the pressure and outscored Strath Haven 19-5 in the final eight minutes to break open a tight game and secure the 52-35 victory.  In the win, Lower Merion was led by the senior trio of Lil Carney, Molly Hanlon and Amy Woods who tallied 14, 13 and 11 points, respectively.  Junior guard Dana Albalancy also chipped in with seven points in the victory. 

 

On Friday evening in a home contest held at Villanova University’s Jake Nevin Field House, Lower Merion jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead over Penncrest including a three-point field goal and a three-point play on a break-away lay-up by Lil Carney.  Amy Woods’ six points and seven rebounds in the first stanza led the Aces into the locker room with a commanding 32-15 lead at the half. 

Carney finished with a game-high 18 points and five steals to lead the Aces in scoring for the second straight game. Sophomore guard Sheba Hall tallied a strong all-around effort with 13 points, seven assists and five steals while Woods tallied her fifth double-double on the season contributing 10 points and 12 rebounds on the night, including six on the offensive glass.  Junior forward Kiki Worku chipped in eight points and seven rebounds in the winning effort. 

 

In the final game of the week, the Aces were strong out of the gates for the second straight day in a commanding 66-24 win over Haverford. Two three-pointers each by Molly Hanlon and Sheba Hall fueled a game-opening 19-2 run in the first six minutes of play. Lower Merion eventually led by as many as 25 points in the first half when Carney's three-pointer with 3:33 left in the second period made the score 33-8. An all-around balanced scoring effort saw seven Aces players contribute in the first half led by Hall with 11 points and Hanlon with 10.  

 

For the game, Hall tallied a career-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting including a 5-of-5 effort from beyond the arc.  She also contributed four assists, three steals and three rebounds in three quarters of action. Hanlon registered 13 points on the afternoon while Dana Albalancy and Lila Jones chipped in with eight points apiece. Other players factoring in the victory included Kiki Worku with six points, Lil Carney with five, Amy Woods with four points and six rebounds and Jessie Porter with three.  Senior Erin Knox led the Aces with seven rebounds including five on the offensive boards. 

 

Lower Merion is now set to continue Central League regular season play this week when they visit Main Line rival Radnor for a 7:30 PM showdown on Tuesday, January 13th.  Following that contest, the Aces take on intra-district foe Harriton as part of a quadruple header on Thursday, January 15th. Game time is set for 6:00 PM at Harriton High School.