Loyola claims 40-point win in The Den

NEW ORLEANS – After a relatively close first half, the Loyola Wolf Pack women's basketball team outscored the Mobile Rams 60-28 in the second half to earn the 96-56 Southern States Athletic Conference win on Thursday in The Den. 
 

The (RV) Wolf Pack (10-2, 3-1 in SSAC) will next host Faulkner at 12 p.m. on Saturday for another league matchup. 
 

Loyola overcame a slow start to take a lead near the end of the first quarter. The Pack started 2-of-12 from the floor, and found themselves trailing 12-5 with three minutes left in the quarter. Loyola finished the frame on a 9-0 run in the final 90 seconds, though, as Deniya Thornton made four free throws and Ava Shields hit a 3-pointer to help give the Wolf Pack a 14-12 lead after 10 minutes. 
 

The Wolf Pack shot much better in the second quarter, despite starting the frame 1-for-7. Thornton made Loyola's first basket in the first 30 seconds of the quarter, then Tiarra McPipe scored at the 5:15 mark to keep it a 21-17 Loyola lead. Thornton made two more baskets on back-to-back trips down the floor, and Jada Washington followed that up with a 3 to put Loyola up by seven, 28-21, with three and a half minutes left until halftime. After Mobile cut it to two, 28-26, the Pack had another strong finish to a quarter, this time outscoring Mobile 8-2 in the final two and a half minutes of the first half to take a 36-28 advantage at the break. 
 

After going scoreless in the first half, Caitlin Travis and Alissa O'Dell scored eight and six points, respectively, in the third quarter to help put the Wolf Pack up 27 at the end of the frame, 66-39. Thornton reached the 20-point mark in the quarter as well, and Madi Walters got in on the scoring action. Tiana Smith led Loyola with 10 fourth-quarter points, followed by Walters' seven. Taylor Smith, Kaylee Dublin and Addison Luker scored, too, to give the Pack 13 scorers in the game. 
 

Mobile shot 10-for-39 in the second half compared to Loyola's 21-for-33 shooting output. 
 

Pack Facts

• All 13 active players scored for the Wolf Pack against Mobile on Thursday. 

• Deniya Thornton put up a monster stat line of 29 points, nine rebounds, six steals, two assists, and a block. 

• Loyola's bench nearly outscored Mobile for most of the game, with five bench players (Jada Washington, Madi Walters, Tiana Smith, Taylor Smith, Ava Shields) combining to shoot 7-for-8 from the three-point line. 

• Walters finished second on the team with 12 points, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. 

• Tiana Smith posted a new season high with 10 points against the Rams 

• After a season-high 19 points against Warner last Friday, SeQuoia Carroll set a new season best in rebounds against Mobile, coming down with a game-high 11 boards.