No. 15 Loyola pulls away from Texas Wesleyan Tuesday

NEW ORLEANS  – The 15th-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack women's basketball team extended their early season record to 5-1 on Tuesday, defeating Texas Wesleyan 90-75 in The Den. 
 

Loyola will now travel to Lafayette, Louisiana, for its next contest, taking on NCAA Division I Louisiana for an exhibition matchup on Monday at 5:30 p.m. The Pack will then return to Southern States Athletic Conference play on Thursday, Nov. 30, when they travel to Point University for a 5:30 game. 
 

The first half featured a ton of back-and-forth play with 10 lead changes and five ties throughout the first 20 minutes. Libby Thompson and Taylor Thomas gave Loyola an early 4-0 lead, then a 3-pointer by Sandra Cannady quickly made it a 7-3 lead less than three minutes into the game. Thomas scored again after that, but Texas Wesleyan took its first lead, 12-10, with four minutes to go in the opening frame. Scores by MG Lymon and Allissa O'Dell flipped the lead in Loyola's favor, 16-12, but again, TWU regained the lead at 18-16. The game changed leads a couple more times by the end of the quarter, as Bria McClure nailed a 3-pointer near halfcourt as time expired to put the Pack back on top, 23-22. 
 

After the Rams went back ahead, free throws by Caitlin Travis tied it in the early going of the second quarter, 25-25, and then another free throw by the freshman gave Loyola the lead again. Texas Wesleyan, again, went back in front, but Travis, again, put Loyola back on top, 32-21, with a 3-pointer. Free throws by Thomas and O'Dell finally made it a multi-possession lead for the Pack, 35-31, and a 3-pointer by Lizzy Ratcliff made it a five-point game, 40-35, with three minutes until halftime. Travis made two more shots to send the Wolf Pack into the locker room with the six-point lead, 46-40.
 

While the game went back and forth in the first half, the Wolf Pack led for the entire second half. A combination of Cannady and Ratcliff kept Loyola ahead by six in the first few minutes of the second half, 51-44. Then just when the Rams pulled to within three, Cannady hit a jumper to keep the Pack in front by five, 55-50, with a little more than four minutes left in the third quarter. McClure expanded Loyola's lead to 10, 50-40, with a 3-pointer, then another 3 by the junior made it a 65-58 lead with a minute to go. Cannady added one more made shot to bring the score to 67-58 by the end of the quarter. 
 

Ratcliff stopped a decent start for the Rams with a 3-pointer, 60-51, to begin the fourth quarter, but the Rams responded with five more quick points to cut their deficit to 70-66. Thompson and Ratcliff hit back-to-back 3s to extend the lead to 12, 78-66, and McClure made it a 13-point lead at the four-minute mark, 83-70. Thompson hit another 3-pointer for good measure to really put the Rams away, as the Wolf Pack cruised to victory. 
 

Pack Facts

• Loyola has reached the 90-point mark in each of its three home games so far this season.

• Sandra Cannady picked up her third double-double of the season, and second straight, with a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds, plus six assists, two steals, and two blocks. 

• Cannady now is eighth in the Wolf Pack record book in career rebounds with 686. 

• Taylor Thomas again was one assist away from a double-double. She led the team with nine assists and five steals to go along with 13 points.

• Five different players scored in double figures for the Pack, including Cannady and Thomas. 

• Caitlin Travis and Lizzy Ratcliff also each had 13 points, with Ratcliff hitting three shots from beyond the arc.

• Bria McClure was also in double digits with 12 points, converting her first four shots from distance. 

• Libby Thompson and Alissa O'Dell also each had nine points, with Thompson hitting two threes and grabbing a season-high five rebounds. 

• Overall, the Wolf Pack made 11-of-24 (46%) from long range, the team's best three-point output of the season.