BATON ROUGE, La. — Freshman guard
Anna Richerson, playing in her hometown, led NAIA No. 19 Loyola University New Orleans with 10 points and four assists Thursday in a 119-54 women's basketball exhibition loss against LSU.
Richerson was 2-for-2 on first-half 3-pointers to produce roars from the approximately 100 fans who came to see her play.
But LSU, No. 9 in the Associated Press preseason poll, had seven double-figure scorers, led by Mikaylah Williams with 23 points and ZaKiyah Johnson with 22.
Alissa O'Dell's basket at 5:15 of the first quarter cut LSU's lead to 9-6, then the Tigers began to pull away. They outscored the Wolf Pack 17-2 to close that quarter, then built leads of 61-20 at halftime and 90-38 through three quarters.
Ava Shields made three 3-pointers and scored nine points for Loyola, and O'Dell and
Tiarra McPipe scored six apiece.
Jaylee Womack led the Wolf Pack with six rebounds. McPipe,
Addison Luker and
Taylor Smith also made 3-pointers.
It was the second Loyola road exhibition in three days against an NCAA Division I opponent. The Wolf Pack lost 81-51 Tuesday at Tulane.
"We'll learn from this," 19th-year Loyola head coach
Kellie Kennedy said. "LSU showed us some things that we need to work on. We fought really hard for 40 minutes."
O'Dell and
Caitlin Travis, Loyola's two seniors, enjoy the challenge of playing Division I opponents.
"They're super fun," Travis said. "To be able to play against the players at this level is a really fun experience. We learn a lot."
Said O'Dell, "I love playing DI. These games inspire us to do better. They give us courage for the rest of the season."
Next for Loyola will be its second regular-season game and its home opener: 2 p.m. Nov. 8 at The Den against the College of Biblical Studies (Houston).
Pack Facts
• All 12 active Wolf Pack athletes got playing time, and 11 of them scored.
• Six Loyola players have hometowns in metro Baton Rouge: McPipe and O'Dell (Zachary), Smith (Denham Springs), Travis (Walker), Womack (Springfield) and Richerson.
• Richerson is a cousin of LSU head coach Kim Mulkey.
• Most of Richerson's fans were from her church, Woodlawn Baptist.
• Loyola opened the regular season Saturday with a 62-53 victory at Our Lady of the Lake.
• This is Loyola's last of 32 women's basketball seasons as an NAIA member. Loyola will rejoin the NCAA for the 2027-28 academic year. The Wolf Pack will compete in Division II as a member of the Gulf South Conference.
