MARIETTA, Ga. – The Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball team earned a road Southern States Athletic Conference win on Saturday, defeating Life University (Ga.), 59-50, for its 14th straight win. The Pack (18-2, 10-1 in SSAC) returns to The Den next week for a couple of SSAC games. They'll host Abraham Baldwin (Ga.) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., and Thomas University (Ga.) on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Caitlin Travis got the scoring started for the Wolf Pack, then Alissa O'Dell scored the team's next six points to give Loyola an 8-6 lead near the halfway mark of the opening quarter. Deniya Thornton's first points came from beyond the arc, 11-6, but an 8-1 run for the Running Eagles gave the hosts the lead, 14-12, with two minutes left in the frame. Madi Walters made a 3, 15-14, and the Wolf Pack defense didn't allow another point for Life before moving to the second quarter.
The second quarter was extremely close with neither team able to grab much of a lead. Life went ahead by five a couple of times in the early portion of the quarter, but a combination of Jada Washington, Tiarra McPipe, SaQuoia Carroll and O'Dell helped get the score tied at 24-all near the five-minute mark. Thornton flipped the lead in Loyola's favor with a 3, however, the Running Eagles regained the advantage a minute later, 28-27. Another Thornton 3-pointer tied it again, 30-30, and Walters gave the Wolf Pack the 33-32 lead by halftime.
Carroll got the second half started with a 3, and she made two free throws to put the Pack up six, 38-32, quickly. Chandler Caver's first points made it a eight-point lead, 42-34, a couple of minutes later, then consecutive scores by Travis, O'Dell and Carroll pushed the lead to 48-34. Life made a little run to cut it to five, and after a McPipe bucket, that's where the lead stood, 50-45, for Loyola at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was a defensive battle with neither team scoring too many points. The Wolf Pack held Life to 1-of-12 shooting in the quarter, so the nine points Loyola put up were more than enough to finish off the win.
Pack Facts
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In the midst of the team's longest win streak since the 2022-23 season, head coach Kellie Kennedy has also reached 400 career wins.
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Loyola is also now 10-1 in conference play, marking the 13th consecutive season in which the Pack's conference win total has reached double digits.
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Alissa O'Dell led all scorers with 18 points, adding nine rebounds as well.
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Deniya Thornton notched her second double-double of the season, putting up 10 points, 13 rebounds, and three assists. She also went 3-for-4 from three-point range.
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Thornton's three assists were tied for a team high along with Chandler Caver and Madi Walters.
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In addition to nine points and seven boards, SeQuoia Carroll led the team in steals with two.
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Loyola held Life to just 35.5 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle 45-26. The Pack also outscored the Running Eagles 14-6 on second-chance opportunities.
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