NEW ORLEANS – While Wednesday's upset win over the University of New Orleans, an NCAA Division I squad, won't count for the Loyola women's basketball team, the Wolf Pack still earned a marquee 73-65 victory for the program at Lakefront Arena.
Since it was an NAIA vs. NCAA D1 matchup, Wednesday's game was played as an exhibition for Loyola but not for UNO. The 22nd-ranked Wolf Pack's record remains 4-1 overall with their Southern States Athletic Conference opener scheduled for 12 p.m. on Saturday at William Carey.
Chandler Caver scored the game's first points from the free-throw line, then scores by Caitlin Travis and Alissa O'Dell kept putting the lead in Loyola's favor, 8-6. UNO pushed ahead by six, 18-12, but Deniya Thornton scored eight points in the final three and a half minutes of the opening quarter to make it a 21-18 deficit after the first 10 minutes.
Four points by O'Dell in the first minute of the second quarter quickly put the Pack back on top, followed by two free throws from Thornton, 24-21. The Wolf Pack continued to shoot the ball well, making seven of their 13 shots from the field and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe, to lead by four, 37-33, by halftime. Caver and Tiarra McPipe kept Loyola up three, then a combination of O'Dell and McPipe gave the Wolf Pack a seven-point lead, 32-25, with less than five minutes left on the clock. The Privateers scored six straight after that, as made shots by McPipe and O'Dell brought the game to its halftime score.
The Wolf Pack got to the free-throw line and used strong defense to extend their lead even more in the third quarter. Loyola attempted just 10 field goals, making four of them, but made eight of their 12 free throws while forcing five UNO turnovers to take a 10-point lead, 53-43, into the fourth quarter. O'Dell scored seven of Loyola's 16 third-quarter points, too, nearly outscoring UNO's team total of 10 points during the 10-minute period.
Loyola pushed its lead out to 14 after the first two and a half minutes of the final frame, as field goals by Caver and Travis and free throws by Thornton and O'Dell made it a 60-46 lead. Two more scores by Thornton kept it a 14-point lead a couple of minutes later, and a 3-pointer by Travis brought the advantage to 15, 69-54, with more than three minutes remaining in the game. UNO was only able to get its deficit down to seven the rest of the way.
Pack Facts
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Deniya Thornton led all scorers with 20 points, adding 10 rebounds and three steals for a double-double.
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Tiarra McPipe had a monster double-double in her first unofficial start: 14 points and 14 rebounds to help Loyola out-rebound the Privateers 47-39.
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Alissa O'Dell poured in 19 points, plus eight rebounds, a block, and a pair of steals.
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Caitlin Travis hit a late three to bring her to 13 points, plus three assists, three rebounds, and two blocks.
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Chandler Caver led the team with four assists to go along with her seven points.
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