No. 9 Loyola reaches 10th-straight SSAC Championship semifinal

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The 2023 Southern States Athletic Conference Championship tournament began on Thursday, and for the second time in the past week, the No. 9 Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball team defeated Life University, this time by a score of 58-42. 

The win puts the top-seeded Wolf Pack (26-1) in the semifinal round for the 10th-straight season, where the team will be matched up with No. 4 seed William Carey at 1 p.m. on Friday at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala. 

Kennedy Hansberry came out of the gate shooting strong, making her first two three-point attempts and scoring the first eight points for the Wolf Pack. Life responded well, however, as the Running Eagles led by four points with two minutes left in the opening quarter. Taylor Thomas hit a trey with 1:47 to go in the first, as the Pack went into the second quarter trailing 14-13. 

Thomas knocked down her second triple shortly after the second period began, and a 10-2 Wolf Pack run led to a Life timeout less than three minutes into the quarter as Loyola regained the lead at 20-16. Out of the timeout, Loyola continued applying the pressure, as Kate Petrovic entered the game and sunk back-to-back threes. Then the Pack closed out the half with two more triples, as Jazmene McMillan and Thomas each connected from distance. 

At halftime, Loyola held a 10-point advantage at 33-23. Thomas led all scorers with nine points in the half.  

Life started out the second half banking in a long three, but those were the only points for the Running Eagles until the 2:20 mark of the frame, as Loyola held their opponents to just five total points in the third on 2-for-17 shooting. Wolf Pack players combined to score 17 in the quarter, led by Liz Critton with five. 

Loyola held off the Running Eagles' comeback efforts in the fourth quarter, as a Sydni Tangle three-pointer, four free throws from Thomas and two buckets from Sandra Cannady were enough to put the Pack through to the next round. 

Tournament Schedule

Wednesday, Feb. 22 at the Multiplex

Game 1: #8 Life def. #9 Middle Georgia, 68-48

Game 3: #7 Blue Mountain def. #10 Talladega, 55-53

Thursday, Feb. 23 at the Multiplex

Game 5: #4 William Carey def. #5 Mobile, 63-56

Game 7: #1 Loyola def. #8 Life, 58-42

Game 9: #7 Blue Mountain vs. #2 Faulkner - 4:30 pm

Game 11: #3 Brewton-Parker vs. #6 Stillman - 8:00 pm

Friday, Feb. 24 at the Multiplex

Game 13: #4 William Carey vs. #1 Loyola - 1:00 pm

Game 15: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 11 - 5:00 pm

Saturday, Feb. 25 at the Multiplex:

Championship: Winner of Game 13 vs. Winner of Game 15 - 4:00 pm

Pack Facts

• This is the sixth time in program history that Loyola has reached 26 wins, and the fifth time in coach Kellie Kennedy's tenure. 

• The Wolf Pack swept the season series with Life 3-0 in their first year in the conference. 

• Including the last two tournaments, Loyola has now won seven-straight games at the SSAC Championship. The team has made the semifinals in 10-straight SSAC Championship tournaments. 

• SSAC Player of the Year Sandra Cannady secured her 18th double-double of the year with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and a game-high six steals. The steals were also a new career high. 

• Second-Team All-Conference honoree Taylor Thomas led all scorers with 15 points while shooting 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. 

• Loyola held Life to just 25 percent shooting (15-for-60) for the game.

• The Wolf Pack grabbed 51 rebounds as a team. It's the ninth time this season that the team has totaled at least 50 boards. 

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.