Box Score The Loyola Wolf Pack used a fast start to defeat William Carey 67-53 Tuesday night in The Den
NEW ORLEANS – The 25th-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack used a hot start to defeat the William Carey Crusaders 67-53 Tuesday night in The Den. With the win, Loyola moved its record to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in Southern States Athletic Conference play, while the Crusaders dropped to 8-3 overall and 4-3 in the SSAC.
The Wolf Pack used multiple small runs in the first quarter to take command of the game. Loyola had two separate 7-0 runs in the beginning and the end of the opening frame, as well as an 8-0 run in the middle. After Presley Wascom and Chelsea Gray scored, Tera Snell hit a 3-pointer to give Loyola a 9-2 lead three minutes into the game, then Wascom hit back-to-back 3s to push the score to 17-4 two minutes later.
Wascom hit another 3-pointer less than a minute later to help the Wolf Pack grab a 28-8 lead after the first quarter.
Loyola continued to shoot the ball well from 3-point land, starting the game 6-for-8 after Kate Petrovic hit one two and a half minutes into the second quarter. That gave the Wolf Pack their largest lead of the game, 36-11. Kennedy Hansberry, Morgan Hervey and Gray all got buckets at the end of the half to send the Wolf Pack into the locker room with a 45-23 lead.
William Carey made things slightly interesting in the second half, outsourcing Loyola in both of the final two quarters. Loyola didn't hit a field goal until midway through the third quarter, but the Crusaders only cut the score to 46-33 by that point. Tay Cannon closed out the quarter with a bucket in the final minute to push the score to 52-35 with 10 minutes to play.
William Carey cut the score to 52-40 with five quick points to begin the fourth, but the Wolf Pack quickly made it a 19-point game a few minutes later to put the game on ice.
Tuesday was the first of three home games this week, as the Wolf Pack will play a pair of games against Mobile Friday and Saturday in The Den. Friday is set for a 5 p.m. start while Saturday will tip-off at 3 p.m.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Kellie Kennedy
"We had a really, really good first half, and I felt like we had so many people participating and taking part in how well we were playing. Even in the last game, we didn't do a very good job of putting two halves together, and we talked about that in the locker room at halftime. We've got to be able to put two halves together and come out with the same energy that we started the game with. We just didn't. I don't know why, but we struggled to get going in that second half. Chelsea Gray played really well. She had a double-double for us. Presley made some big shots, especially early. We have to let our defense help us in situations. We just didn't help ourselves on the defensive end of the floor. William Carey made a run and did a good job of coming back."
Pack Facts
Presley Wascom led the way in scoring, putting up a season-high 16 points while hitting four of her seven 3-pointers.
Chelsea Gray achieved the first double-double of her career, logging 10 points and 10 rebounds. Gray has grabbed 10 rebounds in five games this season, including three straight.
As a team, Loyola dished out 19 assists, their highest total in a game since conference play began. Taylor Thomas had five dimes to lead all players, while Tera Snell matched her assisting career-high with four.
The Wolf Pack got major contributions from the second unit, out-scoring the Lady Crusaders 27-4 on bench points.
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.
