No. 19 Loyola starts SSAC play 5-0

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The 19th-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack women's basketball team stayed unbeaten in Southern States Athletic Conference play on Monday, taking down Stillman College, 65-53, on the road. Loyola (10-1, 5-0 in SSAC) will now take a two-week break before its next competition, returning to The Den on Wednesday, Jan. 3, to host cross-town rival, Dillard at 7:30 p.m.
 

The Wolf Pack came out strong to start the game, jumping out to a 17-5 lead by the end of the first quarter thanks to 50 percentage shooting while holding the Tigers to 2-of-13 from the field. Scores by Taylor Thomas and Sandra Cannady, along with three free throws from Cannady, gave Loyola a 6-2 lead in the first couple of minutes, then those two scored again to make it an 11-2 score. Cannady finished with eight points in the opening frame. 
 

Morgan Hervey and Caitlin Travis got their first points of the contest to start the second quarter, and Cannady's 10th point put the Wolf Pack up 23-10 halfway through. Travis, Thomas and Alissa O'Dell kept it a double-digit lead, and a 3-pointer by Sydni Tangle pushed Loyola's advantage to 32-16 with 90 seconds until halftime. Stillman, though, finished on an 8-0 run to make it a 32-24 Wolf Pack lead at the break.  
 

Deniya Thornton started the second half with an old-fashioned 3-point play, but the Tigers were still able to make it a seven-point game, 35-28, less than three minutes into the period. Cannady and O'Dell scored on back-to-back possessions, 39-28, and Bria McClure found the bottom of the net from beyond the arc to go up 14, 42-28, midway through the quarter. Free throws by Travis and Cannady brought the score to 45-31 entering the fourth. 
 

An early Tangle 3-pointer in the final frame pushed Loyola's lead to 16, 50-34, and consecutive scores by Cannady and O'Dell helped maintain a 15-point advantage, 54-39, with a little more than five minutes left in the game. Stillman cut it to 10 at the halfway point and nine a couple of minutes later, but consecutive scores by Cannady halted any thought of a comeback for the hosts. Thomas would eventually ice the game with three free throws. 
 

Pack Facts

• Loyola's record against Stillman is now 13-1 in the teams' history dating back to 2018.

• Saturday's game was the second time this season that Loyola has held a team under 30 percent shooting. Stillman was 18-of-62 (29.0%) from the field for the game. 

• Sandra Cannady logged her sixth double-double of the year in nine games, finishing with 19 points and 10 boards, both of which were game highs. 

• Cannady now has 732 career rebounds, which moves her into seventh on Loyola's all-time rebounds list, passing Megan Worry (2015-19), who totaled 729 rebounds. 

• Taylor Thomas was Loyola's second double-digit scorer on the afternoon, earning a stat line of 10 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and three steals. 

• Thomas is now up over 200 steals for her career with 201. 

• Alissa O'Dell put up another productive effort in her sixth start. The freshman had nine points and eight rebounds. 

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