Defending champion Wolf Pack to compete at SSAC Championship Thursday

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Loyola Wolf Pack women's basketball team will be seeking its eighth Southern States Athletic Conference Championship this week, with the Pack set to compete at the 2025 SSAC Women's Basketball Championship tournament on Thursday.

The Wolf Pack will be the second overall seed in the tournament, which includes the top 10 teams in the conference. Tournament action began Wednesday at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, with the Pack earning a bye to Thursday's quarterfinal round. 

Loyola (17-10, 11-5 SSAC) finished only behind undefeated William Carey in the conference standings. The Wolf Pack will be facing No. 7 seed Faulkner, which defeated tenth-seeded Thomas to advance into the quarterfinal. The teams split their two previous meetings this season, with both the Lady Eagles and Wolf Pack winning their home games. A win against Faulkner would set up a Friday semifinal matchup with the winner of 3-seed Mobile and 6-seed Life. 

Last year, the Wolf Pack team that won the conference title featured three players that earned SSAC All-Freshman Team honors: Deniya Thornton, Alissa O'Dell, and Caitlin Travis. This year, those sophomores have led the Pack in scoring, with all three putting up double-digit point averages during the season. 

Thornton started the year strong, scoring 38 points in the season opener to garner her first SSAC Player of the Week nod. She later won it again after posting a triple-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 steals against Middle Georgia. Thornton has averaged 14.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, and a team-high 2.4 steals per game this season. 

O'Dell has also averaged 14.0 points per game after going on a tear to end the season. She put up 29 points twice, against Blue Mountain and Mobile, within the last two weeks of the conference schedule. She's also led the team in rebounding at 8.1 boards per game. 

Travis, who averages just under 12 points per game, has consistently gotten to double figures in conference play, scoring at least 10 in nine of the last 11 games to end the season. She also averages 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game, both of which rank second on the team. 

Rounding out the usual starting five, seniors MG Lymon and Kate Thompson have also contributed a lot to the team in the 2024-25 season. Lymon has started at point guard in 25 games, averaging 9.6 points and a team-high 3.8 assists per game. Thompson has put up about eight points and seven rebounds per game, plus an impressive 45 blocks at an average of two per game. Joclyen Wyatt has also been a big contributor off the bench, with an average of about five points per game for the season increased to over 12 PPG the last two weeks of the season, plus big game-winning steals against Blue Mountain and Faulkner.

The Pack defeated Mobile in the 2024 SSAC title game. Overall, Loyola has won the SSAC Women's Basketball Championship in seven of the last 10 seasons. 
 

2024 SSAC Women's Basketball Championship Schedule

Wednesday, Feb. 26 at the Multiplex
Game 1 | #8 Blue Mountain def. #9 Point, 55-44
Game 2 | #7 Faulkner def.  #10 Thomas, 73-61

Thursday, Feb. 27 at the Multiplex
Game 3 | 9:00a | #4 UT Southern vs. #5 Brewton-Parker
Game 4 | 12:30p | #8 Blue Mountain vs. #1 William Carey
Game 5 | 4:30p | #7 Faulkner vs. #2 Loyola
Game 6 | 8:00p |  #3 Mobile vs. #6 Life

Friday, Feb. 28 at the Multiplex
Game 7 | 1:00p | Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
Game 8 | 5:00p | Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6

Saturday, Mar. 1 at the Multiplex:
Championship Game | 4:00p