Box Score
(Montgomery, Ala.) The Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball team accomplished something today it never had accomplished before - win a Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Tournament championship. Behind 24 points from senior point guard Janeicia Neely, the No. 2 seeded Wolf Pack rolled to a 81-59 victory over the No. 1 seed Bethel Wildcats, capturing the SSAC Tournament crown for the first time.
After a tight first half which saw the Wolf Pack take a 29-25 lead into the break, Loyola (27-3, 15-3 SSAC) completely outmatched Bethel (30-3, 18-0 SSAC) in the second half, outscoring the Wildcats 52-34. Loyola shot 66% (19-29) from the field in the second half and Neely was simply unstoppable in the second frame, scoring 15 points on 7-10 shooting.
"In the first half we came out a little tentative, and they did a great job of getting in the passing lanes to force turnovers," said Head Coach Kellie Kennedy. "But we've played great in the second half all tournament. I think our players kind of view our team as a second half team. We really settled down and started to attack."
Loyola opened the second half on a 19-6 run to open up a 17 point lead with 12:11 left to play. Neely scored eight of her game-high 24 points during that stretch while Meghan Temple poured in seven. Bethel wasn't going to go away that easy, though, as the Wildcats scored eight points unanswered to trim the Wolf Pack lead down to nine, 48-39.
Briana Oglesby nailed a tough, running floater as the shot clock expired on the next Pack possession to bring the lead back up to double-digits, but Kenyatta Drake answered with an old-fashioned three-point play to bring Bethel within eight points of the Pack with just over eight minutes to play. It was the closest Bethel had been since there was 16:37 left on the clock, and as it turns out, it was the closest they would get for the remainder of the game.
Loyola slowly built its lead back up to 12 points over the next couple minutes. With 6:22 left to play and the Wolf Pack leading 56-44, Neely drained a three-pointer from the right side to give the Pack a 15 point advantage. Neely then hit a layup, Bethel missed a couple free throws, Megan Whittaker knocked in a three-pointer from the left corner and the Pack suddenly had its largest lead of the game to that point, 64-44.
The Wolf Pack extended its lead to 23 when Neely found Adrianne Sloboh in the lane for the bucket and the foul. Sloboh made the free throw, giving Loyola a 70-47 lead with 3:47 remaining. Briana Oglesby hit from behind the arc with 16 seconds left, giving her 22 points on the night and topping off the Wolf Pack score at 81 points.
Loyola struggled a bit offensively in the early going, committing six turnovers before seven minutes had gone off the clock. Because of those turnovers, Loyola managed just six shot attempts in the first seven minutes compared to 10 from the Wildcats. Still, a strong defensive effort in the first half allowed the Wolf Pack to keep the game competitive. Bethel managed just nine field goals on 34 attempts (27%) in the opening period.
Loyola took its first lead of the game eight minutes in when Oglesby got the line and sunk two free throws. Bethel quickly retook the lead and would hold it for the next eight minutes of game time. The Pack, however, used a 9-3 run at the end of the half to take a four point lead into halftime. Oglesby made a three and two free-throws, and Rebekah Greer and Kylah Jones both contributed a basket to help the Pack close the half on a positive note.
Neely finished the game shooting 10-19, and added four rebounds and three assists to go along with her 24 points. Oglesby was 7-9 from the field and connected on three three-pointers in four attempts. Oglesby also made seven free throws on nine attempts. Temple collected another double-double for the Pack, finishing with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Whittaker added five points, three rebounds and three assists while Greer chipped in with six points and four rebounds.
"We're at our best when we have multiple players in double-figures. Janeicia and Meghan played great, and Briana is a really tough player to guard when she is attacking the rim," said Coach Kennedy.
Kenyatta Drake led the Wildcats with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Conference player of the year Tayla Foster scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, but the Wolf Pack defense held her to just 6-24 shooting from the field and 3-14 from downtown.
Loyola finished the game shooting 57% (30-53) from the field, 33% (5-15) from three, and 80% (16-20) from the foul line. Bethel shot just 32% (22-69) from the field, 17% (5-29) from behind the arc, and 58% (10-17) from the free throw line. The Wildcats pulled down 36 rebounds while the Wolf Pack secured 31.
"Rebounding was a huge key for us tonight," said Kennedy. "We were outrebounded by 30 the last time we played Bethel and only five tonight. And it didn't even feel like they outrebounded us. We were just working really hard on the boards tonight."
Tonight's win for the Wolf Pack marks the first time Bethel has been defeated by an opponent from the SSAC all season.
Janeicia Neely was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2015 SSAC Women's Basketball Tournament. Neely averaged 20 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game in Loyola's three tournament games. Both Neely and Meghan Temple were named to the SSAC All-Tournament Team. Temple had averages of 13 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in tournament play.
Loyola won all three tournament games by at least 15 points, and had an average margin of victory of 20 points. Neely, Temple and Briana Oglesby all played pivotal roles in helping the Pack to be so successful. Oglesby scored 16.3 points per game and shot 68% (17-25) from the field and 60% (9-15) from the three-point line.
The Wolf Pack now moves on to the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Tournament, which will take place March 18-24 in Independence, Missouri. Seeding and scheduling information will be announced by the NAIA on Wednesday, March 13.
