January 21, 2009

Ardmore, PA -- Trailing 17-6 after one quarter, the Lower Merion girls' basketball squad completed a memorable comeback to beat Upper Darby, 52-41, in a crucial Central League contest at Bala Cynwyd Middle School Wednesday evening. 

  

The Royals seemed to be in control early as a put-back by Diamond Beckford (game-high 23 points) gave Upper Darby a comfortable 23-10 lead. The Aces responded with their first signs of life through a 10-0 run paced by sophomore Sheba Hall’s eight points. LM would continue to chip away through the second quarter and headed into the locker room trailing by five points, 25-20. 

Trailing 39-37 with 6:16 to go in the final quarter, the Aces used a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the game, one they would never relinquish. Senior guard Lil Carney drove the lane for two, junior Kiki Worku drove in for a basket and senior forward Amy Woods knocked down two free throws. Down the stretch, the Aces handled Upper Darby’s full court pressure and put the game away at the line sinking 11-of-12 free throws in the final four minutes. 

The win keeps Lower Merion’s hopes alive for an undefeated Central League season and improves their overall record to 15-1.

Lower Merion senior guard Lil Carney, who scored eight of her team-high 20 points in the final quarter, said, "We knew after we got down that we couldn’t give up. Our attitude showed that we weren’t going to allow them to come into our house and beat us. We know that we are close to winning the Central League outright, and if we want to make that happen, we had to go through Upper Darby first”. 

The Aces return to action on Friday when they travel to Garnet Valley for a 7:30 PM showdown. Following that game, Lower Merion will take on Catholic League power Archbishop Carroll (rated #1 in the state in AAA rankings) in the Blue Chip Super Sunday Tournament on January 25th. Tip-off is set for 1:00 PM at Episcopal Academy. 

Box Score:

Lower Merion: 6   14  15   17  –  52

Upper Darby:             17     8  12    4   –  41

LM: Lil Carney 20, Sheba Hall 14, Amy Woods 11, Kiki Worku 7

UD: Beckford 23, Brown 8, Reed 5, Heyward 5