Looney steps up scoring for Parkers Chapel
It wasn't a total shock that Ali Looney was Parkers Chapel's leading scorer this season. She was a starter and consistent performer as a sophomore last year. But the manner in which the 5-foot-2 junior made her mark might not have been as predictable.
Looney averaged 12.2 points and did it the hard way, by driving into the lane and getting to the free throw line. She averaged 6.2 free throws per game and almost as many bumps and bruises.
“Putting her body on the line for the team, she was fearless,” said Parkers Chapel coach Justin Welch. “She wasn't afraid to go in there. She knew when she went in there, there was going to be contact. She never backed down from it. At her size, we're talking about 5-foot-2, she was going in there with some bigs and was taking a lot of tough blows. She's got the battle wounds to prove it. It helped us get to the free throw line, which helped our team be more successful.”
Looney averaged 3.3 steals, 2.2 assists and even 2.5 rebounds per game for the Lady Trojans. She made about one 3-pointer per game but her consistent offense was due to her mad dashes into the paint.
Overall, every part of her game was better this season.
“I'm not the least bit surprised with Ali. She works hard at whatever she's doing. She puts in a lot of time individually working on getting better. You start to see that correlate on the court. As the season progressed, you could tell,” said Welch.
“I think her ball handling improved. Sometimes it's hard to see statistically but her shooting actually improved. Her outside shooting improved. Lots of times it gets skewed. She likes to penetrate. Lots of times she was bumped and stuff like that, no calls that count against you. I think that skewed her shooting percentage. But her ball handling skill and attacking the basket was a huge thing.”
The five-sport athlete played a pivotal role for the Lady Trojans, who went 14-13 this season. As a team, PC didn't overwhelm opponents physically. Each game was a battle with one of the smallest girls on the court leading the charge.
“Ali is not necessarily a vocal leader. She's almost like that general that's out there in the battle. She's not going to send people to war. She's going to go out there because she's fearless,” said Welch. “Her leadership skills, you can't put that on paper how important she is because of that. She leads by example.”