Box Score Wolf Pack now 10-2 in the SSAC.
SAT, 01/30/2016
Coming off a tough 68-59 loss at (RV) Martin Methodist on Thursday night, the No. 23 Loyola University New Orleans Women's Basketball team headed to Crisp Arena on Saturday to square off with No. 4 Bethel University, with the top spot in the conference hanging in the balance.
In a rematch of last year's Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Tournament Championship, the Wolf Pack held the 12-10 lead after the first quarter but would ultimately fall 65-51 on the road.
With the loss, Loyola drops to 15-5 on the year and 10-2 in the SSAC. Conversely, the Lady Wildcats improve to 19-4 overall and 10-1 in league play following the victory.
Jr. F Meghan Temple (Houston, Texas/Klein) paced Loyola with a team-high 16 points and seven rebounds. Fr. G Megan Worry (Houston, Texas/Lumberton) added 11 points and five boards, while R-So.Di'Mond Jackson (Baton Rouge, La./University Arkansas Little Rock)chipped in six points, five assists and four rebounds off the bench.
For Bethel, Shamon Pearson led all scorers with 18 points.
The first quarter proved to be a slugfest between these two ranked opponents. With the score tied at 8-8, So. G Zoie Miller (Frisco, Texas/Lone Star High School) dropped in a layup off a turnover to put the Wolf Pack up two with 3:18 to play in the quarter. As the first quarter horn sounded, the scoreboard read 12-10 in favor of the visitors. With the Lady Wildcats leading 18-17 early in the second, Bethel went on a 4-0 run to stretch the advantage to 22-17 with 6:08 remaining before the half. The home team closed out the half on 13-4 run to take the 35-21 advantage into the locker rooms.
Bethel started the second half by scoring seven-unanswered points to extend the lead to 42-21 with under seven minutes to play in the third. Loyola responded with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 46-29 with 1:55 remaining in the quarter. The home team capped off the third by scoring four-straight to bring the score to 50-29 heading into the fourth. The Lady Wildcats were able to maintain the double-digit cushion for the entirety of the fourth en route to earning the 65-51 victory on Saturday.
Loyola kicks off a four-game home stand on Saturday, February 6, against the University of Mobile at 2:00 p.m. These four home contests will be the final home games for the Wolf Pack this season as they close out the 2016 regular season with three contests on the road.
