Loyola dominates in season opener

NEW ORLEANS  – The Loyola Wolf Pack women's basketball team led for nearly the entirety of their season opener against Texas A&M-Texarkana, defeating the Eagles 91-62 in The Den. The Wolf Pack only trailed for nine seconds in the contest, as 11 different players scored in the contest for Loyola. 
 

The Pack will now play two exhibition games against NCAA Division I opponents, first playing at Tulane on Monday before a matchup with LSU on Wednesday. They'll return to regular-season action Thursday, Nov. 2, against Florida Memorial, as part of the SSAC/SUN Challenge in Montgomery, Alabama. 
 

Lizzy Ratcliff got the season started with a 3-pointer in the first 20 seconds of the game, and scores by Sandra Cannady, Alexis Babineaux and Bria McClure helped the Wolf Pack build an early 12-7 lead. Deniya Thornton and Alissa O'Dell scored the first two points of their collegiate careers, 18-11, and four more points by O'Dell and two free throws by Morgan Hervey brought the score to 24-14 by the end of the first quarter. 
 

The Eagles hit a couple of 3s in the opening minutes of the second quarter to cut the Pack's lead to 26-20, but McClure nailed a 3 and four points by Cannady quickly made it a 33-20 contest with six minutes until halftime. The Eagles made it a single-digit game a couple of times, but Cannady scored six points down the stretch and Caitlin Travis scored her first collegiate points to send the Wolf Pack into the locker room up 49-32. 
 

Loyola dominated the third quarter to extend its lead even more, outscoring TAMUT 25-12 to make it a 30-point lead, 74-44. Thornton led the Pack with eight points in the frame, as eight total players found the bottom of the net. The fourth quarter was more even, with Loyola winning that frame 18-17 to stay ahead of its counterparts. MG Lymon, Morgan Hervey and Cannady added their point totals, and Jada Farrell and Jada Washington scored their first buckets in the winning effort. 
 

Pack Facts

• Loyola has won its last two season openers by an average of over 22 points. 

• After winning SSAC Player of the Year last season, Sandra Cannady picked up right where she left off, filling up the box score with 21 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, three assists, and two steals. 

• Cannady notched the 31st double-double of her career.

• Now with 58 career blocks, Cannady also moved up to 6th place on Loyola's all-time blocks list. 

• Newcomer Lizzy Ratcliff was second on the team with 14 points, also adding six rebounds, five assists, and a team-high three steals. 

• New guard Bria McClure also played well in her debut, leading the way with seven assists and three steals to go along with seven points. She also went 2-of-3 on threes. 

• Freshman Deniya Thornton made four of her seven shots from the field for 13 points, plus five assists, four rebounds, one steal, and one block. 

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