Women’s basketball falls to Xavier in The Den

NEW ORLEANS – The 25th-ranked Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball team lost a rare home game on Monday, dropping a non-conference matchup with the Xavier Gold Nuggets, 81-76, in The Den. The Wolf Pack is set to host Tennessee Southern for their first Southern States Athletic Conference matchup at home this season. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. on Thursday for Loyola's annual School Day Game. 
 

Libby Thompson got the game started with a 3-pointer and Deniya Thornton made it 5-0, but the two teams would jockey for the lead until Loyola broke the 14-14 tie. Caitlin Travis and Alissa O'Dell led the Wolf Pack with four points each during that early stretch. With two minutes left in the opening quarter, Kate Thompson scored four and Bria McClure hit a buzzer-beating 3 to help end the frame on an 11-3 run, 25-17. 
 

McClure answered a XULA 3 in the early going of the second quarter, but the Gold Nuggets used a 10-0 run to jump ahead of the Pack, 31-30, with four minutes until halftime. A combination of Travis and O'Dell put Loyola back on top, then Libby Thompson drained another one from long range, 37-31. Loyola held on to the 40-37 lead at the break. 
 

The game remained close in the second half, but Xavier was able to score the first eight points to take a 45-40 advantage after 90 seconds. Scores by O'Dell, Thornton and Lymon kept Loyola within one possession, then back-to-back scores by Thornton and O'Dell tied it, 51-51, at the halfway point of the third quarter. The Gold Nuggets finished strong, though, taking a 66-59 lead into the fourth quarter. 
 

Xavier built a 10-point lead after a few minutes in the final frame, 71-61, but a couple of scores by Thornton and free throws by Travis kept the Pack in the game, 73-67, with five minutes to play. Kate Thompson trimmed the deficit to four on two different possessions, 77-73, the latter coming off an offensive rebound. After that, Travis made two free throws and Kate Thompson went 1-for-2 to make it a one-score ballgame, 79-76, with under a minute to play. With the ball and 10 seconds to play, Loyola turned the ball over to allow XULA to hold on for the win. 
 

Pack Facts

• Alissa O'Dell picked up her first double-double at Loyola, putting up 12 points and a career-best 14 rebounds. 

• Caitlin Travis also had 12 points, going 8-of-8 from the free throw line. 

• Deniya Thornton led the team with 16 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the field.

• MG Lymon and Kate Thompson each scored 11 points. Thompson put up 11 with nine rebounds, two steals, a block and an assist in just 13 minutes off the bench.