Porter Leads Lady Aces to Win Over Ridley

With senior sensations Sheba Hall and Lila Jones, the Lady Aces are usually thought of as a two-woman outfit. After Thursday night, they might be a big three.

In a rematch of the surging Lady Aces 47-27 Jan. 6 win, Lower Merion got a career-high 24 points from Jess Porter and topped Ridley 48-39 at the Bryant Gymnasium in a game that wasn't quite as close as the final would indicate.

The Aces never trailed in moving to 15-3 on the season.

"I was just really confident today," said Porter after the game, wearing a broad smile and her number five jersey. "Once I started making shots, I was really getting into it."

"I've never gotten that many points before.'

Led by Porter, Lower Merion took the initiative early against their Central League rival and never relinquished it. Thanks to their usual active, hustling defense (rare is the loose ball these Aces don't scoop up) and sound ball movement on the other end Pellicane's girls took a 20-14 lead into the half.

Just like the two teams' first matchup though, it was in the final 16 minutes that the real fireworks came. After combining for 34 points in the first two periods, the teams scored 63 in the second pair.

The Aces took a 25-15 lead in the early part of the third period—their largest of the night to that point—before Ridley got going. The Green Raiders hit a three to cut the lead to 25-18, then hit another on their next trip down the court, then got a layup and-one on the trip after that. The Green Raiders, after scoring 15 points in the games first 20 minutes, had scored nine within one. But unfortunately for Ridley, the Aces—that is to say Jess Porter—matched them bucket for bucket.

Midrange, deep, in the paint—the lanky junior scored from all over the court, usually with an assist from the dynamic Sheba Hall. She scored 13 points in the decisive third period, not only stopping the Green Raider run dead in its tracks but actually allowing the Aces to extend their lead.

Aces head coach Lauren Pellicane saw room for improvement though.

"I'm not pleased at all with the way we played defense in the second half," said the evidently difficult-to-please Pellicane. "They hit six threes in the half, that concerns me. We gave them too many wide-open looks."

She was much more ebullient when the topic of Porter came up.

"She's been very consistent for us. She had a career high night tonight, and she's having a very good junior year," said the coach.

As the surprise star exited the locker room, an onlooker called out, jocularly, "can we get your autograph?"

Porter blushed. With a few more nights like Thursday, such requests might be serious.