Box Score The Wolf Pack earned their fifth conference win and remain in first place after a road victory at Mobile
MOBILE, Ala. – The Loyola Wolf Pack finished a string of four straight road conference games with anther matchup away from The Den at the University of Mobile Saturday, earning a 78-68 win in a battle of tied first-place teams.
The 17th-ranked Wolf Pack remains in first place with a 5-1 Southern States Athletic Conference record and they are now 11-3 overall.
Loyola jumped up 10-4 in the first three minutes of the game after a pair of 3-pointers from Kate Petrovic and Paige Franckiewicz. Petrovic had five points during the early run, as she finished with eight points in the first quarter.
The Wolf Pack quickly made it a 16-6 game then 21-9 in the next four minutes, finishing the first quarter with the 27-17 lead. Loyola shot 5-for-7 from behind the 3-point line and 66 percent (10-for-15) from the field.
Loyola had six different players score in the second quarter, extending its advantage to 48-30 by halftime. Franckiewicz led the Wolf Pack with five points in the second, recording a game-high 11 through the first two quarters. The Wolf Pack's largest lead, 46-26, came when Breyah Richardson grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up with less than two minutes to go in the half.
The Rams started to chip into Loyola's lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Wolf Pack 20-13 in the frame to make it a 61-50 game.
In the fourth quarter, Mobile continued to hang around, cutting the Wolf Pack lead to single digits, 61-52, a minute into the fourth quarter. Loyola led the entire quarter, but the Rams did trim the score down to 64-58 halfway through the fourth. Loyola pushed the lead back to double digits two minutes later, then extended the score to 73-60 with two minutes to play.
Franckiesicz and Chelsea Gray combined for 12 of the team's 17 fourth-quarter points, and the two hit clutch free throws down the stretch to keep Mobile at bay.
After playing four straight road games, Loyola finally returns to The Den for three straight home games. First on the schedule is its annual School Day Game against Spring Hill College Tuesday, Jan. 14, at noon. The matchup is one of more than 80 games played this season by men's and women's teams from the 27 Jesuit colleges and universities across the United States.
Pack Facts
Paige Franckiewicz led the Wolf Pack with 22 points, and that's a season-high for the senior.
Chelsea Gray had a career day with 11 points, which is the most the junior has ever scored in a Loyola uniform.
Taylor Thomas had a game-high six assists and she's recorded at least six in four games this season.
Kennedy Hansberry tied her career-high with six rebounds.
Loyola's bench scored 30 points compared to Mobile's nine.
The Wolf Pack made 9-of-19 (47 percent) attempts from behind the 3-point line, which is the second-best mark of the season.
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.
