Box Score The Loyola women's basketball team will now turn its attention to the SSAC Championship tournament next week in Montgomery, Alabama
BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – The Loyola Wolf Pack women's basketball team finished the regular season at Blue Mountain College on Saturday, defeating the Toppers, 71-64. The Wolf Pack will now head into next week's Southern States Athletic Conference Championship tournament with the No. 1 seed after finishing the season 13-3 in league play and 19-5 overall.
The Wolf Pack took an early 6-2 lead in the first four minutes of the game, using scores by Kennedy Hansberry, Tay Cannon and Sandra Cannady during that time. Tera Snell added a made shot, then Taylor Thomas hit a 3 to quickly make it five different scorers for Loyola. After BMC took its first lead, two Thomas free throws put the Pack back up, then the junior had four more points and Sydni Tangle hit a 3-pointer to give Loyola a 20-16 lead after the first quarter.
The two teams traded points through most of the second quarter, which included another 3-pointer for Thomas, 27-23, with four and a half minutes until halftime. After Hansberry made it a 30-25 Loyola lead, Thomas hit another 3, but the Toppers finished the first half on an 11-2 run to take a 36-35 lead into the break.
Loyola and Blue Mountain continued the back-and-forth play in the second half, as Hansberry and Cannon combined to score the first 14 points through the first seven minutes of the third quarter. By that point of the game, Loyola led by only one, 49-48, then a score by Tangle gave the Pack a 51-48 advantage with two-plus minutes until the fourth quarter. The Toppers hit a 3 in the final minute, though, which helped them tie the game with 10 minutes to play, 53-53.
Cannady and Tangle started the fourth quarter with back-to-back scores, then Cannady and Hansberry each made shots a couple of minutes later to put Loyola ahead by five, 61-56, with six and a half minutes to go. The Topers cut the Pack's lead to one, but a 3-pointer by Jazmene McMillan extended the score back out to a four-point Loyola lead. Cannady and McMillan scored again to give Loyola a significant advantage, 68-60, with four minutes left. Blue Mountain tried to get the game back to one possession, but free throws by Cannady and Hansberry iced the game.
Pack Facts
Tera Snell recorded two blocks in the contest to bring her career total to 52, tying for the seventh-most in program history.
Sandra Cannady tied a career-high with five steals on Saturday, and it was also her ninth game this season with multiple steals in a game.
Sydni Tangle added four steals on defense, matching her career-high that she's accomplished two other times this season.
Taylor Thomas led the Wolf Pack with 17 points and six assists, making it five of the last six games with at least five assists.
Kennedy Hansberry (16), Tay Cannon (12) and Cannady (11) joined Thomas in double figures in scoring.
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
