Box Score Wolf Pack will face No. 4-seed Martin Methodist tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. with the tournament championship up for grabs.
With a spot in the finals on the line, the No. 25 Loyola University New Orleans Women's Basketball team faced off against (RV) Auburn University at Montgomery in the semifinals of the SSAC Women's Basketball Championship on Friday evening.
Powered by career games from F Adrianne Sloboh (SR/Simi Valley, Ca.) and G Jackie Anderson (JR/San Antonio, Texas), the Wolf Pack were able to erase a seven-point deficit at half time to earn the 68-62 victory and punch their ticket to the finals.
Loyola will face No. 4-seed Martin Methodist in tomorrow's championship game, with tipoff from the Cramton Bowl Multiplex set for 4:00 p.m.
Sloboh had a huge game for the Wolf Pack, pouring in a career-high 23 points to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds off the bench. Anderson also logged a career high in points on Saturday, chipping in 12 on 4-of-5 shooting. G Zoie Miller (SO/Frisco, Texas) added 12 points off the bench, while F Caroline Gonzalez (JR/Colleyville, Texas) added six boards in the victory.
SSAC Player of the Year Jatoria Carter led AUM with a game-high 32 points and seven assists in the loss.
Loyola's bench was dominant on Friday, outscoring AUM 39-9 led by Sloboh's 23 points.
G Megan Worry (FR/Houston, Texas) started the game with a triple to put No. 2-seed Loyola up 3-0 before a 9-0 run by AUM put the Warhawks up 9-3 with just under seven minutes to play in the first quarter. The Wolf Pack answered with six-straight points to knot the game at 9-9 at the 2:59 mark. The score would tie two more times as the quarter round down and with it knotted at 12-12, Carter made one of two free throws to give AUM the 13-12 lead after the first quarter of action.
Following back-to-back field goals by Sloboh and Miller, the Warhawks took control of the second quarter. A three pointer by AUM's Tatyana Darden with 2:08 remaining gave AUM its largest lead of the first half at 29-22. Neither team managed to score in the final two minutes and the scoreboard read 29-22 heading in to the locker rooms.
Down 33-28 in the third, Loyola orchestrated a 6-0 run to grab the 34-33 advantage with 4:47 to play in the quarter. The Warhawks' Kaylan Withrow hit a triple with just over four minutes to play to give AUM the lead back but the Wolf Pack quickly answered with a layup by Sloboh to regain the advantage. Loyola ended the third with two deep three pointers to take the 47-41 cushion in to the final quarter.
The Wolf Pack came out in the fourth on fire, stretching their lead to 55-41 in less than two minutes. Down, but not out, AUM turned to Carter to try and get back in to the game. Carter responded, helping the Warhawks cut the deficit to just three points, 65-62, with 15 seconds remaining. Despite missing three free throws in the final seconds, Loyola managed to hold on to earn the 66-62 semifinal victory.
