No. 6 seed Loyola wins first-round matchup

NEW ORLEANS – The sixth-seed Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball team took down No. 11 Southeastern (Fla.) in the first round of the NAIA National Championship, presented by Ballogy, on Friday, advancing to Saturday's second-round matchup against No. 3 Georgetown College.  
 

Tip-off will be at 5 p.m. in The Den, and the winner advances to the Round of 16 at the tournament's final site in Sioux City, Iowa. 
 

Both teams started the first-round contest with 3-pointers, as Deniya Thornton nailed Loyola's, followed by one from Sandra Cannady, 6-3. The Pack got off to a fast start with 10 points after three minutes of play, as Alissa O'Dell made the score 10-5 in Loyola's favor. The Fire brought their deficit to one, 10-9, by the media timeout, but Taylor Thomas hit two free throws to push the score to 12-9. Caitlin Travis hit a mid-range shot, 14-9, to give all five starters points, but Southeastern tied the game, 18-18, with less than two minutes left in the opening quarter. The Fire eventually took a 20-18 lead after 10 minutes of play. 
 

SEU scored the first five points of the second quarter, 25-18, then Thornton ended Loyola's scoring drought with a 3-pointer, 27-23, to spark a quick 10-0 run and give Loyola a 31-27 lead halfway through the frame. Thornton scored again after her 3, and Morgan Hervey picked up an offensive rebound on a missed free throw to tie the game, 27-27, after the old-fashioned 3-point play. Two more points by Thornton and Libby Thompson's first points ended the run. Southeastern battled back by taking a 42-37 lead in the final minute of the first half, however, two free throws by Sydni Tangle and a last-second made shot by Travis brought SEU's lead to 42-41 at the break. 
 

The Fire, again, got off to a good start in the third quarter, scoring the first six points to take a 48-41 lead, but two Hervey free throws and a technical foul on SEU helped get the score tied at 50-50. Southeastern kept taking a one-possession lead but the Wolf Pack kept tying the game at 54-54 and 56-56. SEU led by three, but three points by Cannady cut it to one and a Thornton tough bucket kept it a one-point deficit, 62-61, with a minute left. A Hervey steal led to a Tangle fast-break score to finally put the Pack back on top, 63-62, and Cannady ended the frame with a made shot at the buzzer to send Loyola into the fourth quarter with the 65-63 lead. 
 

Thornton and Travis kept Loyola in front, 69-65, to start the fourth quarter, but the Fire answered with a 7-2 run to go back ahead, 72-71, at the halfway mark. Travis, though, didn't let that lead last long, nailing a 3 to put Loyola back in front, 74-72. Cannady converted an and-1 opportunity after that, 77-72, and O'Dell put one in off the glass to keep it a five-point game, 79-74, with three minutes to play. Cannady extended the lead to seven, 71-74, with 90 seconds left, then a put-back for O'Dell kept that lead, 83-76, with 50 seconds left. 
 

Southeastern only made one more shot after that, as the Wolf Pack defense clamped down for the victory. 
 

Pack Facts

• Sandra Cannady filled up the box score, scoring a team-high 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting, plus a career-high seven assists with seven rebounds and five steals. 

• Cannady moved into ninth place on Loyola's all-time scoring list, now with 1,412 points at Loyola. 

• Taylor Thomas, who poured in 11 points, also moved up on the scoring list to seventh, as she's up to 1,546 points in her career. 

• The game was won on the offensive glass for Loyola, who out-rebounded Southeastern 46-27. The Wolf Pack grabbed 25 offensive boards compared to just five for the Fire, and Loyola won the second-chance points battle 28-7. 

• Deniya Thornton was a huge part of that offensive rebounding effort, as she came away with seven offensive boards, eight total, plus 15 points and a pair of threes. 

• Fellow freshmen starters Caitlin Travis and Alissa O'Dell scored nine points apiece. O'Dell also had eight rebounds and two blocks. 

• Off the bench, Morgan Hervey put up five points and eight rebounds, while Sydni Tangle and Libby Thompson each had six points.
   

2024 NAIA National Championship First & Second Rounds

Friday, March 15 - Friday Round
Game 1 | #6 Loyola 84, #11 Southeastern 78
Game 2 | #3 Georgetown 87, #14 Milligan 61

Saturday, March 16 - Second Round
Game 3 | 5 p.m. | #6 Loyola vs. #3 Georgetown
 

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