Box Score The Wolf Pack used a long run early to pull away from NCAA Division II rival Spring Hill College Tuesday afternoon
NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack and Jesuit rival Spring Hill College tangled in a rare matinee Tuesday, as Loyola hosted its annual School Day Game. With area elementary-aged students in attendance, the Wolf Pack earned a 79-54 win over the Badgers, marking the 26th straight win against Spring Hill.
Spring Hill hasn't beaten Loyola since Jan. 8, 2005.
Loyola moves its overall record to 12-3, while its Southern States Athletic Conference mark remains 5-1.
The two squads matched one another shot for shot early in the contest, as the scoreboard read 8-8 after the first four minutes. Loyola, however, grabbed an 11-8 lead after a Kate Petrovic 3-pointer, then it raced out to 28-10 in the span of five minutes. Presley Wascom and Paige Franckiewicz each converted 3s and Tay Cannon scored six points during the 17-0 run.
Loyola ended the first quarter with a 28-12 lead.
In the second quarter, Spring Hill started to chip into the lead, cutting the Wolf Pack's advantage to 36-25 with three minutes left in the half. The two stayed even in the final minutes, but the Wolf Pack was able to make one more shot than the Badgers to go into the locker room up 47-34.
The Wolf Pack started the second half by scoring 10 of the period's first 14 points to push their advantage to 57-38. Wascom and Franckiewicz each made 3-pointers in the first five minutes, and Loyola's defense only allowed the Badgers to make one of their first six field-goal attempts.
As a team, Loyola shot 10-for-28 from the 3-point line, and Franckiewicz and Wascom combined to go 9-of-17.
Loyola outscored Spring Hill 16-8 in the third to take a 63-42 lead into the final 10 minutes of the game. In the fourth, Loyola had the game in cruise control, scoring 16 points in the quarter to Spring Hill's 12.
Loyola will resume SSAC play with a home game Saturday against Martin Methodist. Tip is set for noon and the game is part of Loyola's Hall of Fame weekend.
"I thought it was a good game for us to play between league games, and it's always a great game to play with Jesuit rival and making that a School Day Game. Our team loves (the School Day Game). It makes it so much more special. This is one of their favorite games of the year with the kids and the crowd.
"I thought our team played well, and obviously, we shot the ball really well, which was a big key for us getting up big. Everybody did their part (in the first half), and we continued to do that in the second half. We didn't keep them off the boards like I thought we should have in the second half, but if you end the game with more assists than turnovers, that's always a plus. Our shooting percentages were good across the board and I felt like our posts played pretty strong. It was a good win."
Pack Facts
Kamille Cooper recorded one block in the contest, but that gave her 38 for her career and she's now tied for 10th in program history.
Presley Wascom recorded a career-high eight assists Tuesday. Her previous career-high was three, and she also scored 17 points with four rebounds.
Chelsea Gray tied career-high for rebounds with seven.
Paige Franckiewicz led the Wolf Pack with 19 points against Spring Hill, and it's the third game out of the last four she's scored at least 19 points.
Tay Cannon tallied 14 points for Loyola, which is the seventh game this season she's had double digits.
Both Wascom and Cannon had three steals each to stifle the Spring Hill offense.
Loyola held Spring Hill to just 20 points and 20.7% shooting from the floor in the second half.
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