Box Score Jackson's triple-double pushes Loyola past the Crusaders 84-44 at First NBC Court.
Coming off a four-game road trip, the (RV) Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball team returned home on Thursday evening to take on William Carey University in a Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) showdown.
Powered by a triple-double by Di'Mond Jackson (JR/Baton Rouge, La.) and 21 points from Paige Franckiewicz (FR/Slidell, La.), the Wolf Pack (15-4, 7-2 SSAC) celebrated its homecoming on Thursday by dismantling the Crusaders 84-44 at First NBC Court.
The visiting team actually held the lead in the final moments of the first quarter before Meghan Temple (SR/Houston, Texas) converted a layup and was fouled with just three seconds to play. Temple dropped in the free throw to give Loyola the slim 14-12 advantage entering the second.
The Wolf Pack turned up its defensive effort in the second quarter – holding the Crusaders to just 2-of-16 shooting from the field. Loyola used its swarming defensive attack to slowly start putting the game out of reach in the second frame. With the home team up 12, Zoie Miller (JR/Frisco, Texas) sank a three-pointer to put the Wolf Pack up 15 points, 33-18, with just over two minutes to play before halftime. Two free throws by William Carey's Latia Pullum ended the half to bring the score to 35-21 in favor of the home team.
Already up 32 points, a triple by Franckiewicz would give Loyola its largest lead of the game at 62-27 with 2:45 remaining in the third. A free throw by Kayla Noto (SO/New Orleans, La.), her first point since coming back from injury, put the Wolf Pack up 67-33 entering the final quarter of action.
Sitting at 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in the fourth, Jackson found Mary Grace Copa (FR/Austin, Texas) underneath for a layup to put Loyola up 42 points, 79-37, and give Jackson the impressive triple-double with 4:21 to play. The Crusaders would not get any closer than 36 points for the remainder of the game and a three-pointer by Kaila Anthony (FR/Pflugerville, Texas) capped off the contest to give Loyola the convincing 84-44 victory at home.
The Wolf Pack shot 30-of-67 (44.8%) from the field while holding the Crusaders to just a 23.5% (12-of-51) clip. Loyola grabbed 52 boards in the win, nearly doubling William Carey's output of 28. The Wolf Pack also distributed the ball well on Thursday, racking up 21 assists compared to just eight by the Crusaders.
Franckewicz led all scorers with 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc. Anthony added 11 points and three boards in the win while Miller collected 12 points and three rebounds off the bench. Continuing her strong play this season, Jackson put up 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in 27 minutes.
William Carey was led by Pullum's 10 points off the bench.
The Wolf Pack returns to First NBC Court on Saturday, Jan. 21, to take on Blue Mountain College at 2:00 p.m.
