NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola women's basketball team hosted the Blue Mountain Christian Toppers in The Den for a conference matchup and its final game of a three-game homestand on Thursday. The Wolf Pack earned a clutch victory, overcoming a four-point deficit in the final minute, to collect its third straight win
Loyola will return to the court on Saturday, when it travels to Montgomery, Alabama, for a conference matchup with Faulkner at 12 p.m.
The Toppers got off to a quick start in the first quarter, beginning with a five-point lead in the opening minutes of the contest. Caitlin Travis put the Pack on the board with two makes at the foul line, 5-2. After Blue Mountain continued its first-quarter run, the Maroon and Gold cut the deficit with scores by Alissa O'Dell, Deniya Thornton, and Joclyen Wyatt, 13-12. Another Thornton basket brought the score within two, then two shots at the charity stripe by the sophomore tied the game up to end the first quarter, 16-16.
Another Thornton free throw gave Loyola its first lead of the night, 17-16, then a triple by Wyatt, assisted by Jada Washington, took the lead to two, 20-18. Shortly after, a three-point play by MG Lymon extended the advantage, 23-18. The Toppers found their footing in the following minutes, tying the match at 28-all. An O'Dell bucket, along with two free throws by the sophomore, put the Pack back in front with two minutes until the break. 32-31. A Travis layup kept the Pack ahead by three, but a triple by the Toppers tied the game heading into the locker room, 34-34.
The second half started with a scoring frenzy, beginning with two free throw makes by Travis. Following a free throw by O'Dell, a Thornton basket and another score by O'Dell gave the Pack a four-point lead in under two minutes after the break, 41-37. After BMCU tied the game at 44-all, an O'Dell 3-pointer gave the Zachary, Louisiana, native her 21st point of the night, 47-44. Three free throws and a bucket by Wyatt gave the Pack an eight-point edge, 52-44. With a minute left in the third frame, the Toppers managed a tie, 54-54. Travis made a free throw to break the tie, 55-54, then a block by Thornton led to a buzzer-beater by Travis, 57-54.
The fourth quarter was a defensive one with only five scores by both teams within the first five minutes of the frame. It started with two scores by the Toppers to retake the lead, 58-57. Loyola got back in the driver's seat with a triple by Wyatt and a basket by O'Dell, 62-58. With four minutes to go, the Toppers, once again, retook the lead, then the Pack got back in front with a score by Travis, 64-63. Blue Mountain got back in front in the final minutes, leading with under a minute left in the game, 73-69. After a timeout, O'Dell made a shot to get within two, then stole the ball from the Toppers to score the tying basket with 20 seconds left, 73-73. After a turnover by BMCU, Caitlin Travis knocked down two clutch free throws to put Loyola in front, 75-73. In the Toppers' final possession, a big-time steal by Wyatt sealed Loyola's victory.
Pack Facts
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Alissa O'Dell poured in a career high 29 points to lead all scorers Thursday, also grabbing a game-high eight rebounds.
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O'Dell scored four points in the final minute as part of a 6-0 run to put the Pack on top.
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Joclyen Wyatt also picked up a new career high with 14 points. She was 2-of-5 on three-pointers.
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Caitlin Travis scored the second most points in the game with 18, her most in a game in 2025, adding seven rebounds, three assists, and a game-high four steals.
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MG Lymon led the team with 10 assists, her second time in the last three games reaching double figures in that category. She's totaled 26 assists in the last three games.
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Deniya Thornton was the fourth Wolf Pack player to get double-digit points, scoring 10 to go along with eight rebounds and four steals.
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