Loyola battles back in road win

PULASKI, Tenn. – The Loyola University New Orleans trailed for nearly 30 minutes on Saturday, but the clock struck zero with the Wolf Pack claiming the 76-69 win at Tennessee Southern. The Pack (10-7, 4-2 in SSAC) is set to return to The Den at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday against Point University (4-8, 3-4).
 

Loyola trailed 33-28 after 20 minutes of play, as turnovers hurt the Wolf Pack's chances offensively. On the other side of the floor, the Firehawks had 13 more shot attempts than Loyola and seven offensive rebounds, but their poor shooting allowed Loyola to stay close at halftime. 
 

The Pack kept pace with UT Southern in the early portion of the first quarter thanks to six points from Alissa O'Dell, then two points each by Kate Thompson and Bria McClure kept it a tie game, 10-10. Deniya Thornton gave Loyola the lead briefly, but UTS scored the final six points of the frame. The Firehawks led for the entire second quarter, taking a lead as large as eight, 20-12, in the first minute. A 3 by Thornton and two free throws by Thompson, though, pulled the Wolf Pack back to within one possession, 20-17, a minute later. Loyola got the deficit down to one possession several times, but the Firehawks kept answering Loyola's push. 
 

The first five minutes of the third quarter was much of the same, as Tennessee Southern built a 43-35 lead. Caitlin Travis scored nine straight points for Loyola after that, as seven of those came from the charity stripe, 47-44. MG Lymon and Libby Thompson both hit 3s in the final minute of the quarter to make it a two-point ballgame, 52-50, with 10 minutes to play. 
 

The Wolf Pack turned in their best shooting performance in the fourth quarter and turned it over significantly less to help regain the lead. After Thornton scored Loyola's first points of the quarter, Travis quickly tied it, 54-54, in the opening minute. The Firehawks took a four-point lead three times over the next couple of minutes, but Lymon and Joclyen Wyatt both made shots to tie it again, 62-62, with less than four minutes to play. Travis put Loyola up for good after that, 65-62, and scores by Lymon and O'Dell kept the Pack in front, 70-67, with 90 seconds left on the clock. Free throws by Travis, Kate Thompson, Wyatt and Lymon iced the game. 
 

Pack Facts

• After being held scoreless in the first half, Caitlin Travis caught fire in the second, pouring in 16 points on 3-of-5 from the field and 10-of-11 at the free throw line.

• MG Lymon posted double figures in scoring for the third consecutive game, finishing with 15 points, plus a team-high three assists. 

• Alissa O'Dell, whose late bucket got the Pack to 70 points, led all players with 12 rebounds to go along with eight points. 

• Kate Thompson continued her 2025 block party, adding two blocks to her stat line of 11 points and nine boards on Saturday to bring her team-high blocks total to 22 on the season, eight of which have come in the first three games of the new year. 

• Deniya Thornton also scored 11 points, going 4-of-7 from the field and grabbing eight rebounds.

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