Box Score Anthony powers the Wolf Pack attack with a career-high 17 points off the bench.
Coming off a 15-day layoff, the No. 22 Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball team returned home on Saturday afternoon to take on Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) opponent Middle Georgia State University in a New Year's Eve showdown.
Fueled by a career-high 17 points from Kaila Anthony (FR/Pflugerville, Texas) off the bench, the Wolf Pack downed the Knights 79-62 to close out 2016 with a 10-3 overall record and a 3-1 mark in conference play. Conversely, the Knights drop to 3-5 on the year and 1-3 in league action following the loss.
The teams battled to a 9-9 tie to start the game before a 7-1 run by the Wolf Pack gave the home team the 16-10 advantage with 4:02 to play in the opening quarter. With Loyola up four late, Paige Franckiewicz (FR/Slidell, La.) connected on her second triple of the quarter to give the Wolf Pack the 28-21 cushion with just 24 seconds to play. Anthony managed to force a turnover on Middle Georgia State's next possession and the scoreboard read 28-21 in favor of Loyola after the first ten minutes.
The Wolf Pack were able to hold the lead for the entirety of the second quarter and managed to stretch the advantage to 10 points (40-30) after two free throws by Anthony with 1:18 remaining. Neither team was able to score over the final 60 seconds of play and the home team went into the locker room up 41-31.
The third quarter saw both teams struggle to put the ball in the hoop to start until a layup by Meghan Temple (SR/Houston, Texas) broke the three-plus minute drought to put Loyola up 43-32 with 6:48 to go. The Knights managed to cut the deficit to single digits (47-38) at the 4:04 mark but Di'Mond Jackson (JR/Baton Rouge, La.) quickly answered with a bucket to give Loyola the double-digit cushion back. The quarter ended with Kylah Jones (SR/Houston, Texas) sinking three free throws to put the Wolf Pack up 57-44 entering the final quarter of action.
Loyola ballooned its lead in the fourth as a three-pointer by Megan Worry (SO/Houston, Texas) would put the home team up 23 points (76-53) with under four to play in the game. The Wolf Pack was able to keep Middle Georgia State at a safe distance for the remainder of the game to grab the convincing 79-62 victory at home.
The home team shot 24-of-61 (39.3%) from the floor and 9-of-20 (45%) from beyond the arc on Saturday. Loyola sunk an impressive 22-of-30 (73%) shots from the free throw line and grabbed 48 rebounds in the victory.
Anthony's 17 points led five Wolf Pack players in double figures. Jones and Jackson both added 11 points in the game while Franckiewicz and Temple both chipped in 10 points. Jackson led the squad with eight rebounds to go along with four assists and two steals for Loyola.
The Knights' Tasicianna Taylor led all players with 21 points in the loss.
The Wolf Pack will look to win its eighth-straight game when the team returns to First NBC Court on Monday, Jan. 2, to take on Brenau University at 2:00 p.m.
