No. 13 Loyola wins on the road

THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The 2024-25 regular season is less than two weeks old, but the Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball team started the Southern States Athletic Conference portion of their schedule with a road game at Thomas University on Tuesday. The Wolf Pack earned a dominant, 86-52, win to make their early-season record 1-2 overall and 1-0 in league play. 
 

Loyola will resume conference play on Thursday, Nov. 14, when it travels to Mobile for a 5:30 p.m. first tip, but it'll travel to NCAA Division I foe Louisiana before then on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
 

Deniya Thornton scored seven of Loyola's 17 first-quarter points to help Loyola take a 10-point lead after 10 minutes. It was low scoring in the beginning, but Caitlin Travis scored first for Loyola and four points by Thornton made it a 7-2 lead for the Wolf Pack six-plus minutes into the game. Bria McClure added a 3-pointer to help Loyola get off to a good start. 
 

The Nighthawks did better in the second quarter but it wasn't enough to chip into the Pack's lead, as the visitors led 37-26 by halftime. Kate Thompson, Alissa O'Dell and Thornton all had four points in the frame to keep Loyola ahead by a double-digit margin.
 

Loyola pulled away even further in the second half, and it started in the third quarter. McClure and MG Lymon made it a 41-26 advantage, and that was the start of an 18-0 run for the Wolf Pack to begin the second half. Libby Thompson and McClure both hit 3s, and Joclyen Wyatt and O'Dell both chipped in four points during that stretch. McClure and Libby Thompson, again, nailed shots from beyond the 3-point line, and Alexis Babineaux converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to help make it a 66-36 lead after three quarters. 
 

From there, Loyola cruised to victory behind six fourth-quarter points from Krislyn Biscette and four by Skye Pepp. 
 

Pack Facts

• Loyola held Thomas to just 20.8% shooting. The last time an opponent shot 20% or worse from the field was November 3, 2019, when the University of the Virgin Islands made just 11 field goals while shooting 20.0%. 

• The Wolf Pack came down with 66 total rebounds against the Nighthawks. That's the most rebounds in a game for the Pack since January 28, 2017, when the team got 71 boards against Coastal Georgia. 

• Deniya Thornton posted the second double-double of her collegiate career, stuffing the stat sheet with 14 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks, two assists, and a steal in just 18 minutes. 

• Alissa O'Dell also scored 14 points in just 17 minutes, making five of her seven attempts from the field. 

• Kate Thompson grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with five points and a block. 

• Libby Thompson neared a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds, her second-highest rebound total at Loyola. All nine of her points came from behind the three-point arc, as she went 3-for-7 on triples. 

• Bria McClure also knocked down a trio of three-pointers, going 3-of-6 from deep while putting up a new collegiate career high with 13 points. 

• Twelve different players got on the scoreboard for the Wolf Pack on Tuesday, with freshmen Krislyn Biscette and Skye Pepp scoring their first official points for the Pack. 

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