Loyola dominates in conference win Thursday

NEW ORLEANS – The Wolf Pack women's basketball team made its return to The Den for a Southern States Athletic Conference matchup with SSAC newcomer Abraham Baldwin (Ga.) on Thursday. Loyola improved its conference record to 7-4 after earning a dominant, 107-52, victory over the visitors.
 

The Wolf Pack will wrap up the weekend with a conference matchup against Life University on Saturday, Feb. 1 in The Den. The tip-off for Saturday's Hall of Fame game is set for 12 p.m.
 

Kate Thompson put the Pack on the board in the opening seconds, 2-0. After the Fillies hit a triple to take a lead, three straight scores by Alissa O'Dell, Deniya Thornton, and MG Lymon brought Loyola's lead to five, 8-3. Another triple by ABAC reduced the Pack's lead, 8-6, but scores by Thornton and O'Dell drove Loyola to an eight-point advantage with four minutes left in the first quarter, 16-8.
 

In the final minutes of the first quarter, Libby Thompson got on the board with a triple, then Thornton turned a steal into a three-point play, 22-12. Alexis Babineaux scored her first points of the game with buckets, while Thornton notched her 10th point of the opening quarter with a free throw. To close the quarter, Libby Thompson knocked down another triple to complete Loyola's 30-point quarter, 30-16.
 

Thornton hit a jumper for the Pack's first points of the second quarter, 32-18. Two makes at the foul line by Lymon, then a layup by Kate Thompson kept the Pack up, 36-20. O'Dell notched another layup while Addison Luker scored her first points of the night shortly after, 40-20. Two free throws by O'Dell, followed by her own layup completed Loyola's 10-0 run in the quarter, 44-20. Soon after, Thornton scored her 14th point of the half with a layup to put Loyola ahead, 46-21, entering the locker room.
 

The Wolf Pack continued its strong play through the third quarter. Caitlin Travis earned her first points of the game with a steal and a score. Deniya Thornton matched Travis' by doing the same, 65-27. In the final minutes of the third frame, Bria McClure sunk two shots at the charity stripe with another layup shortly after. To end the quarter, Travis made a layup in the final seconds to record a 13-point quarter, 82-33. In the fourth quarter, Loyola cruised to notch another conference victory, 107-52
 

Pack Facts

• MG Lymon notched her first double-double at Loyola, finishing with 10 points and a career-high 10 assists.

• Alissa O'Dell led the team with 22 points on 9-of-11 from the field, adding a team-high seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals. 

• Reigning NAIA Player of the Week Deniya Thornton put up 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, plus six rebounds and three steals. 

• Libby Thompson reached double digits for the first time this season, knocking down three of her five attempts from three-point range. It's her second time hitting three triples in a game this season.

• Caitlin Travis led the game in steals with four, scoring 13 points in the second half while playing just 14 minutes. 

• All four of Loyola's sophomore class (O'Dell, Thornton, Travis, Thompson (scored at least 11 points on Thursday. 

• Loyola hit the century mark for the first time in a game since Dec. 17, 2022, when the Pack beat Middle Georgia 109-39. This was also the Wolf Pack's largest margin of victory in a game since the Middle Georgia win in 2022. 

• The Wolf Pack's 28 assists were also the team's most since having 30 dimes in the Dec. 17, 2022 win.

Subscribe to Pack Tracks, a Loyola Athletics Newsletter, for the latest information >> https://loyolawolfpack.com/subscribe.aspx. You can also keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.