The No. 24 Loyola University New Orleans Women's Basketball team ended the regular season on Saturday afternoon, traveling to take on SSAC foe William Carey University.
The Wolf Pack bested the Crusaders 70-64 on the road, earning their sixth 20-plus win season under the direction of Head Coach Kellie Kennedy.
With the victory, Loyola improves to 20-7 on the year and 14-4 in the SSAC. Conversely, the Crusaders drop to 8-16 overall and 5-13 in league play following the loss.
Jr. G Kylah Jones (Houston, Texas/Westfield) led the Wolf Pack with 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor. So. G Zoie Miller (Frisco, Texas/Lone Star High School) dished out a team-high four assists to go along with 13 points, while Jr. F Meghan Temple (Houston, Texas/Klein) collected 10 points and a team-best eight boards.
For William Carey, Shania Posey tallied a game-high 26 points in 35 minutes played.
After trailing 3-2 to start the game, the home team held the lead for the next seven minutes. Jr. F Caroline Gonzalez (Colleyville, Texas/Colleyville Heritage) connected on a triple at 2:24 to give Loyola the lead back at 15-14. The Crusaders were up 18-15 with just 31 seconds remaining, before Miller ended the quarter with back-to-back baskets to give the Wolf Pack the 19-18 advantage.
With Loyola up 28-23 in the second quarter, William Carey put together a 5-0 run to knot the score at 28-28. The score tied two more times and after the first 20 minutes of action the scoreboard read 32-32.
Both teams struggled to score to start the third quarter and the score stayed 32-32 after the first three minutes. Loyola went up by as much as nine points on three different occasions to close out the third with the visitors leading 47-38.
The Wolf Pack stretched the lead to double figures in the fourth and maintained that cushion for a majority of the quarter. At the 3:07 mark, William Carey put together an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to just three, 62-59, with 1:11 remaining. Loyola was able keep the Crusaders at bay in the final minute to earn the 70-64 victory on the road.
Loyola will take part in the SSAC Tournament from March 2-5, with its opponent to be announced later.
