Box Score The Pack win their fourth conference tournament ring in the past five seasons behind a career-best 30 points from Kaila Anthony
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 24 Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball team once again was crowned champion of the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC), defeating No. 15 Bethel Saturday evening at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl in the 2019 SSAC Women's Basketball Championship final.
The Wolf Pack (26-6, 17-3 SSAC) got on the scoreboard on the game's opening possession with a long triple from Kaila Anthony, after which the Wolf Pack would not trail for the remainder of the game. Anthony's three-pointer wouldn't be answered by the Lady Wildcats (28-5, 18-2 SSAC) until a putback about a minute later. It was a fast start for the Pack, who jumped out to a 13-5 advantage early.
Anthony had half of Loyola's points in the opening frame, with the team leading 20-12 heading into the second quarter, which saw much of the same success for the Wolf Pack. The second-seeded Pack grew their lead to 37-26 by halftime, with Anthony up to 15 points at the break.
The Wolf Pack held a 14-point advantage at 42-28 with just over seven minutes left in the quarter, but the Lady Wildcats erased the lead over the rest of the period, going on a 21-7 run to tie the score at 49 with less than a minute left in the third frame. A three-pointer from Presley Wascom would put Loyola back out in front, but the Bethel run set up a close final quarter, where the Pack entered with a 52-51 lead.
The score remained close through most of the quarter, with the Wolf Pack holding just a 59-57 advantage with 4:21 to play. The Pack then closed the game by outscoring Bethel 11-2, with seven of those points coming from Anthony to bring her total to 30, as Loyola secured its second-consecutive SSAC Championship title with a 73-65 win.
The Wolf Pack now await the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship Selection Show on March 6 at 5 p.m. when they will find out who they face in the opening round of the tournament. You can view the selection show on the NAIA's Facebook page here.
On the season: "We went into the season and I don't know that we exactly knew who we were. We lost the player of the year last year in Zoie Miller, and we lost the defensive player of the year in Di'Mond Jackson, and I feel like we were just trying to figure out who we were. We started the season and lost three games in a row, but just gradually, we got better and better and better. I just feel like we're playing our best basketball at the right time. I don't do anything special, I just bring a really great group of kids here every year. That's all I do, I just have to keep bringing great kids here and we're going to be successful."
On the bench playing a key role: "Our coaching staff always talks about who's going to be the X-factor. Some of these kids that we have don't play as many minutes as they might play on another team in this league. But the minutes that they play are so crucial and important to us and I feel like they get such great experience. So they get these quality minutes early, in really crucial times for us, and they just get better as the years go on and end up being like Kaila and Megan, and when they're juniors and seniors, they're everything we need."
On the upcoming NAIA National Tournament: "We're going to do what we did all year, the next game is the most important game of the year and we'll see who we match up with in Montana. These guys, I can't say enough about how proud I am of them. I give Bethel so much credit; they're such a good team. But I'm just so proud of how we played from the beginning of the game."
On what they did differently to beat Bethel for the first time this season: "I think this time we were just a little more focused. Being that we lost the two games in the regular conference season, we just had to zone in as a team and come together. Coach Kennedy even said it for us, we don't all have to be at our best, but imagine if we all come in at 80-90 percent as a team. I think that's what we did, I believe we wanted it more than Bethel, and we came in here and did what we needed to do."
On the upcoming NAIA National Tournament: "I have a really good feeling about nationals, I'm at least expecting Elite Eight or more. But I think that having this start that we did now, winning the championship going into nationals, I think we have some great momentum and if we keep it up as a team and focus, I think we're going to be fine, the sky's the limit."
Pack Facts
Loyola has now won four of the last five SSAC Conference Tournaments.
The Wolf Pack have now won 26 games in three consecutive seasons.
One day after topping 1,000 career points with the Pack, Megan Worry became the program's all-time leader in blocked shots with 132.
The senior forward also moved into fourth for most rebounds in a single season at Loyola with 298.
Kaila Anthony was named the SSAC Tournament MVP after scoring a career-high 30 today, sinking six three pointers, with six rebounds, three steals and a block.
Anthony now has 69 steals on the season, tied for the eighth-most in a year with the Pack.
You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.
