No. 22 Loyola falls against William Carey to open SSAC play

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – After an exhibition win against NCAA D-I New Orleans earlier in the week, the Loyola Wolf Pack women's basketball team returned to NAIA competition on Saturday, opening the Southern States Athletic Conference schedule on the road against reigning SSAC regular season champions William Carey. 

Carey (6-0, 1-0 SSAC) used a strong second half to pull away from Loyola (4-2, 0-1 SSAC) to win by a final score of 69-54. The team will return home for a men's and women's basketball doubleheader against Dillard on Tuesday, Nov. 25. The women's game is scheduled to start at 5:30 in The Den. 

The Crusaders got on the board first with a layup on their first possession, but Deniya Thornton quickly matched it with a layup on the other end, following with a triple a minute later to score the Wolf Pack's first five points. Carey retook the lead during a scoring drought for Loyola, but Alissa O'Dell hit a jumper right after the five-minute mark to put the Pack up 7-6. Another scoreless five minutes followed, with a late basket by Taylor Smith cutting the deficit to send Loyola into the second quarter trailing 13-9. 

Several more scores by O'Dell and Thornton and Caitlin Travis' first three-pointer kept the Pack close in the second quarter, but the Crusaders never gave up the lead to head into halftime up 28-24. Thornton accounted for 13 of Loyola's 24 points in the first 20 minutes. 

The triples started falling in the third quarter, as Tiarra McPipe came out of the break nailing a corner three, and Caitlin Travis knocked down a couple of treys in the period, but the shots were falling on the other side as well, as Carey extended their lead to 51-37 by the end of the third. 

Carey continued pulling away in the fourth, extending their lead to as many as 20 points at 67-47 with 2:42 to go. A late rally with two buckets and a free throw from O'Dell cut the deficit to 13 with a minute to go, but the Crusaders were able to close out the win to remain undefeated. 
 

Pack Facts

• Playing all 40 minutes, Deniya Thornton led all scorers with 18 points, adding six rebounds and three assists. 

• Alissa O'Dell had 17 points to go along with nine rebounds and a block.

• Caitlin Travis made three total three-pointers, totaling 13 points with four assists and two steals.