Wolf Pack extends winning streak to eight

NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball team moved its winning streak to eight on Monday with a 78-70 win at Dillard University. Loyola (12-2, 4-1 in SSAC) returns to Southern States Athletic Conference play on Thursday when it travels to Abraham Baldwin for a 4:30 p.m. CST contest. 
 

The Wolf Pack had a strong close to the first quarter after only scoring five points through the first five and a half minutes of the game. Dillard led 10-6 at the 4:35 mark when Loyola got hot and scored 15 points the rest of the frame. A 13-0 run started with Alissa O'Dell converting an old-fashioned 3-point play, and a 3-pointer by Deniya Thornton capped off the run with Loyola leading 19-10. Chandler Caver also had five points during that stretch, with Loyola making 4-of-6 shots while Dillard was 0-for-7. The Bleu Devils made a couple of baskets late in the quarter to bring the score to 21-15, Wolf Pack. 
 

Addison Luker entered the game and hit a 3 in the first couple of minutes of the second quarter, then Jada Washington and Ava Shields scored their first points to maintain a seven-point lead, 30-23, with six minutes until halftime. It was a back-and-forth game until halftime, as Caitlin Travis, SeQuoia Carroll, O'Dell and Thornton had two points each to give the Wolf Pack a 38-30 advantage at the break. 
 

Dillard cut Loyola's lead to four in the opening minutes of the second half, but a pair of 3s by O'Dell and Carroll gave the Pack some breathing room. Two free throws by O'Dell around the five-minute mark put Loyola up by double digits, 48-38, for the first time in the game. A Travis score stopped a 6-0 Dillard run, and Tiarra McPipe hit two free throws to keep the lead eight, 52-44, with 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Thornton answered a Dillard 3-pointer with one of her own in the final 15 seconds to bring the game's score to 56-49. 
 

Madi Walters also answered a Bleu Devil 3-pointer in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, and Carroll put the Pack up 10 again, 64-54, a couple of minutes later. After five straight points by Dillard, Travis and Caver both hit 3s, which was followed by another score by Luker to give Loyola its largest lead, 72-59, with three minutes left. Dillard made things interesting at the end, but scores by Carroll and Taylor Smith secured the win for the Wolf Pack.
 

Pack Facts

• Fresh off her SSAC Player of the Week awards, Deniya Thornton led the Wolf Pack in scoring (18 points), assists (3), and steals (2). 

• Alissa O'Dell logged her sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. 

• Loyola had four players reach double figures in scoring, with SeQuoia Carroll (11) and Caitlin Travis (10) joining Thornton and O'Dell. 

• The Wolf Pack combined to make nine of its 17 three-point attempts. The team's three-point percentage of 52.9 was its best of the season.