Loyola holds on at Blue Mountain

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – The Loyola Wolf Pack women's basketball overcame a fourth-quarter run by the Blue Mountain Christian Toppers to earn a road win on Thursday, 79-75. The win moves the Wolf Pack to 9-7 overall and 3-2 in Southern States Athletic Conference play, and they'll travel to Tennessee Southern (5-5, 4-2) on Saturday for another league matchup at 12 p.m.
 

Loyola shot 57.1 percent from the floor in the first 10 minutes of the game to score 20 first-quarter points, and despite shooting 37.5 percent, Blue Mountain was able to stay close to the Wolf Pack, 20-19. The Toppers led 5-3 in the opening minutes, then MG Lymon tied it up before a Libby Thompson 3-pointer put Loyola in front, 8-5. Lymon drilled a 3 a couple of minutes later and Alissa O'Dell extended the lead to 15-9, but the Toppers used a 10-5 run during the final three-plus minutes of the first quarter to get within one. 
 

There were nine total lead changes in the first half, but five of those came in the second quarter. BMCU quickly took the lead in the first 15 seconds, then free throws by Bria McClure put Loyola back in the lead, 22-21. The Toppers got back-to-back scores a couple of minutes later to flip the score again, 25-24, and that was answered by two Deniya Thornton free throws during the next possession, 26-25. Loyola pushed its advantage to nine, 37-28, after that with a 13-3 run, powered by four points each from Thornton and O'Dell. However, BMCU stormed back with a 15-4 run to close out the first half leading 43-41. 
 

The Pack came out of the gates in the second half and retook the lead quickly behind a 5-of-7 start from the field while holding the Toppers to 0-for-5 shooting. Caitlin Travis, Kate Thompson, Thornton and O'Dell all scored in the early going, as Loyola used an 11-1 run to jump ahead 52-44 after four minutes of play. The Wolf Pack built their largest lead of 10, 60-50, with two minutes left in the frame after two Lymon free throws, then an old-fashioned 3-point play by Thornton on their next trip down the floor made it an 11-point lead, 63-52. Loyola would eventually take a 64-57 lead into the fourth quarter. 
 

Loyola overcame a tough shooting quarter in the final frame to earn the win. An 11-3 run by the Toppers to start the fourth flipped the lead for the second time of the second half, 68-67, then the Wolf Pack used two sets of free throws by Lymon and O'Dell to stay in front, 71-69, with two minutes left in the game. After BMCU tied it in the final 90 seconds, a field goal by O'Dell and free throws by Thornton, Kate Thompson and Lymon sealed the victory. 
 

Pack Facts

• After already notching her third double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the first half, Alissa O'Dell finished with a team-high 21 points (8-of-11 FG) and 14 boards, matching a career rebounding number she's reached three times this season. 

• Deniya Thornton also posted her third double-double of the season, putting up 18 points and 11 boards while adding two assists, a steal and a block. 

• MG Lymon four clutch free throws in the game's final moments were part of an overall 11-for-11 shooting night at the stripe. She also hit a pair of three-pointers and finished with 19 points, plus three assists. 

• After blocking three shots last game, Kate Thompson came up with four more blocks on Thursday, giving her a team-best 20 blocks on the season. She also collected nine points and eight rebounds. 

• Loyola out-rebounded Blue Mountain 45-27, with the frontcourt trio of O'Dell, Thornton, and Thompson grabbing six more rebounds than the entire Topper team.