Loyola opens 2026 with 37-point win

NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball team brought the fireworks to its January 2 matchup with Warner University (Fla.), defeating the Royals 94-57 in The Den on Friday. 
 

Loyola (9-2, 2-1 in SSAC) returns to Southern States Athletic Conference action next week when it hosts Mobile on Thursday and Faulkner on Saturday in The Den. Tip-off times are 5:30 p.m. and 12 p.m., respectively. 
 

Alissa O'Dell and SeQuoia Carroll took turns making a couple of shots, but Warner hung with the Pack in the early going, 9-6. O'Dell's second shot started a 22-2 run for Loyola that saw it close the first quarter with a 29-8 lead. Deniya Thornton and Caitlin Travis traded a couple of 3s to push the advantage to 20-6, and Carroll converted an old-fashioned 3-point play shortly after that, 28-8. Jada Washington and Ava Shields each scored their first points down the stretch of the opening frame.
 

The Wolf Pack's defense held the Royals to 3-of-16 shooting while Loyola was 9-for-19 to create the separation.  
 

Carroll scored five more points in the first 90 seconds of the second quarter to keep things going for Loyola, 34-8. Washington, O'Dell and Madi Walters combined to make seven free throws during the next couple of minutes, 41-14, and Walters hit a 3 with two minutes until halftime, 48-15. The Royals finished the half on an 8-0 run to make it a 48-23 lead for the Pack at the break. 
 

Both teams scored 22 points in the third quarter, which ended with Loyola leading 70-45 entering the fourth. The Pack had six different scorers, including Kaylee Dublin scoring her points and a team-high six from Travis. Warner was 7-for-15 (2-4, 3PT) from the field while Loyola was 7-for-14 (3-7, 3PT).
 

The dominant win was capped off with a dominant fourth quarter, as Loyola outscored the Royals 24-12. O'Dell scored the first seven points for Loyola in the frame, then Tiana Smith got on the board after that, 79-50. Addison Luker and Taylor Smith also scored their first points, giving the Wolf Pack 13 players in the scoring column. 
 

Pack Facts

• Loyola has outscored opponents by an average of 21.2 points during the team's five-game winning streak. 

• Alissa O'Dell led all scorers with 21 points, her third 20-point game of the season, while only playing 19 minutes. She also had a game-high eight rebounds. 

• SeQuoia Carroll put up a season-high 19 points with seven rebounds and like O'Dell, nearly averaged a point a minute while playing just 21 minutes. 

• Deniya Thornton posted game highs in assists (6) and steals (4) while scoring 13 points, which included a season-best 3-for-5 day from beyond the arc. 

• As a team, Loyola combined to make 10 of its 23 makes from beyond the arc. It was the team's first game with double-digit threes since the 2023-24 season. Led by Thornton's three makes, Caitlin Travis and Madi Walters each sank a pair of triples, and Addison Luker, Taylor Smith, and Ava Shields all hit one. 

• The Pack has recorded 12 steals in back-to-back games and has five double-digit steal games this season.