NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola women's basketball team hosted William Carey (Miss.) for the final match of the regular season on Senior Day in The Den. On Saturday, The Wolf Pack lost a close matchup to the SSAC's first-place team in William Carey, 72-67. The Wolf Pack will be in the No. 2 seed at next week's SSAC Women's Basketball Championship, and they'll play the winner of No. 7 Faulkner and No. 10 Thomas at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
After Deniya Thornton put the Pack on the board, the Crusaders scored three to take the lead, 3-2. Two makes at the foul line by Alissa O'Dell gave Loyola the lead, then another bucket by the sophomore kept Loyola in front by one, 6-5. A basket by Thornton tied things up, then Caitlin Travis sank two free throws to go up by two, 10-8. Carey took back the lead, 12-10, but free throws by Thornton and Joclyen Wyatt, along with another bucket by the graduate student tied things up with one minute left in the quarter, 15-15. Thornton swished a corner triple to end the quarter and give Loyola an advantage, 18-17.
Wyatt started the second quarter with two scores, then Alexis Babineaux added two buckets of her own, extending Loyola's edge to six, 26-20. The visitors tied the contest, 26-26, but a layup by Babineaux kept the Wolf Pack in front, 28-26. Bria McClure made a triple, then a jumper, but the Crusaders matched that to tie the score, once again, with over two minutes left until the break. After two makes at the charity stripe by Wyatt, a score by the Crusaders tied the contest to end the first half, 36-36.
O'Dell hit a basket to begin the Pack's third-quarter scoring run with Travis making two free throws for a two-point advantage, 40-38. O'Dell made a second-chance bucket with Travis knocking down a shot from long range to bring the Maroon and Gold's advantage to seven, 45-38. O'Dell added two more shots to the scoresheet to end Loyola's 13-2 run, 49-38. Carey cut the deficit to four, but a layup by MG Lymon made it a six-point game, 53-47. The Crusaders closed the quarter well, taking a three-point lead, 56-53.
Kate Thompson opened the final frame with a layup, but the visitors challenged the Wolf Pack defense, going up by five with five minutes left in the game, 64-59. With Carey ahead by a dozen and one minute left, a score by Thompson and a corner triple by Thornton cut the lead to seven. Two Carey turnovers that lead to two free throws by O'Dell and another by Travis cut the lead to four with 30 seconds left. Despite Loyola's best efforts, Carey closed things out to win the contest, 72-67.
Pack Facts
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Deniya Thornton led the Pack with 19 points and five steals.
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Alissa O'Dell picked up her second-straight double-double, and her sixth of the season, with 12 points and 10 boards.
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Joclyen Wyatt was third in scoring with nine points, which was her fourth-straight scoring at least eight.
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Caitlin Travis earned a new rebounding career high after pulling down 10 boards, six of which came in the third quarter.
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