Box Score The No. 25-ranked Wolf Pack will play for their second straight SSAC Championship title on Saturday after winning by 26 in the semifinals
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 25 Loyola Wolf Pack have now won in each of their two SSAC Championship matchups handily, winning their semifinal matchup with William Carey 80-54 Friday afternoon. The decisive win over the Crusaders comes a day before a 45-point in the tournament's quarterfinals, and the top-seeded Wolf Pack (21-5) will now face the winner of No. 7-seed Brewton-Parker and third-seeded Talladega in the SSAC Championship title game.
The championship game is set for 4 p.m. on Sunday from the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama.
After William Carey opened up the game with a 3-pointer, the Wolf Pack quickly responded with eight straight points in the first four minutes of the game. Sandra Cannady scored and made an and-1 opportunity, then Kennedy Hansberry followed up a Tay Cannon-made shot with a 3-pointer, 8-3. Consecutive made shots by Cannon and Liz Critton were followed-up, again, with a made 3, this time by Sydni Tangle, and another 3-pointer by Tangle at the end of the opening quarter gave the Pack a 23-11 lead.
The Crusaders started the second quarter with five points in the first minute, cutting the Loyola lead to seven, 23-16, but Kate Petrovic and Jazmene McMillan each hit 3-pointers during a Wolf Pack 12-0 run to extend their advantage to 35-16. Petrovic then scored nine points in the final three minutes of the quarter, allowing Loyola to take a 44-20 lead at the break.
Again, William Carey started a quarter with the first five points, 44-25, but Loyola, again, went on another run to squash WCU's momentum. Tangle made a 3-pointer then Hansberry and Cannady scored on back-to-back possessions, pushing the lead to 28, 53-25, halfway through the third. Tangle scored again from beyond the arc, Cannon made three straight shots, and Petrovic put an exclamation point on the 28-point third quarter with another 3-pointer, giving the Pack a 72-37 lead after three quarters.
Leading by 35, Loyola was outscored 17-8 in the fourth quarter, as MG Lymon led the Pack with six points.
Pack Facts
Kennedy Hansberry scored five points, bringing her career total to 1,004 points.
Loyola had three players score in double figures, led by Tay Cannon with a game-high 15. The other two came from the bench, Sydni Tangle with 14 and Kate Petrovic with 13.
Loyola's bench almost out-scored William Carey, putting up 48 points total. Liz Critton scored eight points off the bench, Jazmene McMillan had seven, and MG Lymon had six.
Petrovic and Tangle went a combined 7-of-13 from three-point range. The Pack made nine three-pointers in total, with Hansberry and McMillan each hitting one.
It was the best team three-point shooting effort since Jan. 20, when the team had 13 long-range makes.
As a team, Loyola grabbed 11 steals, the seventh straight contest with double digits in that category.
SSAC Women's Basketball Championship Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 23
Game 1 | #9 Blue Mountain def. #8 Middle Georgia 67-53
Thursday, Feb. 24
Game 2 | #4 William Carey def. #5 Stillman 63-53
Game 3 | #1 Loyola def. #9 Blue Mountain 90-45
Game 4 | #7 Brewton-Parker def. #2 Faulkner 72-64
Game 5 | #3 Talladega def. #6 Mobile 80-78
Friday, Feb. 25
Game 6 | #1 Loyola def. #4 William Carey 80-54
Game 7 | #3 Talladega def. #7 Brewton-Parker 85-72
Saturday, Feb. 26
Championship | 4 p.m. | #1 Loyola v. #3 Talladega
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.
