NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball team kept its winning streak alive and handed William Carey University (Miss.) its first loss of the season on Monday. The Wolf Pack defeated the 19th-ranked Crusaders 69-63 for their 13th straight win, also improving their record to 17-2 overall and 9-1 in Southern States Athletic Conference play. 
 

(RV) Loyola is now tied with WCU atop the SSAC standings, as the two teams split the season series. 
 

The battle between two of the best teams in the SSAC started with back-and-forth play. Caitlin Travis scored Loyola's first points from beyond the 3-point line, 3-2, and Alissa O'Dell put the Wolf Pack back in the lead a couple of minutes later, 8-6. SeQuoia Carroll broke an 8-all tie, but the Crusaders used an 8-3 run to go ahead 16-13. Travis hit a long 2-pointer at the buzzer to make it a 1-point deficit after 10 minutes, though. 
 

Tiarra McPipe put Loyola back in front to start the second quarter, 17-16, then Addison Luker did the same a couple of minutes later with a 3-pointer from the corner, 20-18. O'Dell scored again to make it a multi-possession lead, however, WCU finished the half on a 12-2 run to take a 30-24 lead at the break. 
 

The Pack grabbed some momentum in the third quarter, outscoring their guests 18-8 in the frame. It all started with a 14-4 run during the first six and a half minutes of the second half. Loyola shot 7-for-10 with four points each from Carroll and Thornton, and scores by Chandler Caver, O'Dell and Travis as well. Carroll added another field goal to give Loyola a 42-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 
 

Loyola shot 8-for-4 in the frame compared to William Carey's 4-for-16 output. 
 

The Wolf Pack maintained their lead through the final 10 minutes, but William Carey cut it to one multiple times in the beginning. Jada Washington and McPipe combined to have six big free throws at the start, and a bucket by McPipe extended the lead to seven, 50-43. Two more free throws from the freshman made it a double-digit lead, and a 3-pointer by Washington gave Loyola its largest lead of 13, 58-45, with less than five minutes to go. William Carey could only get as close as seven before a minute was left to play, but Travis scored seven points down the stretch to keep Loyola ahead by multiple possessions. 
 

Pack Facts

• Caitlin Travis led the Wolf pack in scoring with 18 points, also leading the team with nine rebounds. She went 9-for-12 at the free throw line, including a clutch 7-for-8 in the fourth quarter, and she rebounded her only miss. 

• Tierra McPipe played an important role in the second half, scoring eight of her 11 points in the fourth quarter.

• Alissa O'Dell also scored 11 points in limited minutes. 

• SeQuoia Carroll made four of her five attempts from the field, finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds. 

• Loyola handed William Carey its first loss of the season, meaning there are now zero undefeated teams in the NAIA. It also snaps a 57-game regular season winning streak, as it was the Crusaders' first regular season loss since December 16, 2023, when Carey also lost to Loyola in The Den. 

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