NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball team stayed atop the Southern States Athletic Conference standings on Thursday, defeating Blue Mountain Christian, 72-67, in The Den. The win moves the 16th-ranked Wolf Pack to 19-3 overall and 13-2 in league play, as they'll host Tennessee Southern on Saturday at 12 p.m. for Senior Day.Â
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The Toppers outscored the Wolf Pack in the opening quarter, 24-18, as BMCU built a 15-7 lead after the first five minutes of play. Taylor Thomas got on the board with four free throws, 17-11, but a 3-pointer by the visitors halted Loyola's quick run. Loyola, though, got six points from Caitlin Travis to help close the quarter well.Â
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Travis kept it going to start the second quarter to cut it to 26-20, but the Toppers quickly pushed their lead out to 10, 33-23 halfway through the frame. Travis got into double figures after that, eventually making it a nine-point game, 37-28, with a couple of free throws. A 3-pointer by Thomas and a score by Sandra Cannady brought the deficit to eight by halftime, 41-33.Â
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Loyola scored the first nine points of the second half to jump ahead 42-41 after the first two and a half minutes. Cannady scored five of those points, then the two teams traded the lead with the help of Deniya Thornton, Alissa O'Dell and Cannady. An old-fashioned 3-point play for Travis and another score for Thomas made it a 53-47 lead with three minutes left in the quarter, then Alexis Babineaux helped the Wolf Pack stay ahead, 57-51, with four quick points. MG Lymon's first points sent Loyola into the fourth with a 59-54 advantage.Â
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The Topper made it a one-point game, 59-58, immediately to start the fourth, and they even took a 65-64 lead with less than three minutes to play in the low-scoring quarter. Cannady, Thomas and Sydni Tangle combined to make eight free throws down the scratch to seal the win.Â
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Pack Facts
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Sandra Cannady picked up her 10th double-double of the season, and 40th of her career, posting 19 points and 12 rebounds, plus two steals, an assist, and a block.Â
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Cannady moved into fifth in program history in career rebounds with 825.Â
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Alissa O'Dell was also close to a double-double, finishing with nine points and 10 boards plus two steals.Â
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Taylor Thomas had two takeaways and is now tied for fourth in program history in steals with 234. She also put up 13 points, six rebounds, and a game-high five assists.
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Loyola totaled 10 steals for the game, marking the 11th time this season the team has had double digits in that category.Â
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Caitlin Travis came off the bench to pour in 15 points, 12 of which came in the first half.Â
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The Wolf Pack won the second-chance points battle 21-7 and points off turnovers 19-4.Â
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Loyola has won its last 18 games over the Lady Toppers and is 24-3 all-time in the series.Â
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