NEW ORLEANS – After the 19th-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack women's basketball team saw its 17-game winning streak snapped last weekend, Loyola got back in the win column with a 72-65 decision over Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) on Thursday.
The win for Loyola, plus Tennessee Southern's win over William Carey on Thursday, means the Pack has clinched the Southern States Athletic Conference Regular-Season title for the fourth time in five seasons. Loyola will play one more regular-season game on Saturday, hosting UT Southern at 12 p.m. for Senior Day.
Loyola made its first five of seven shots to jump out to a quick 10-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game. Alissa O'Dell scored four of those 10 points, and SeQuoia Carroll, Deniya Thornton, and Caitlin Travis all contributed a bucket. The Toppers, however, battled back to take a 16-15 lead with two and a half left in the opening frame. Deniya Thornton, Tiarra McPipe and Travis all hit 3s after that to put the Pack up 10 after the first 10 minutes of play.
Blue Mountain Christian won the second quarter 18-10 to cut Loyola's lead down to two by halftime, 36-34. Loyola shot 2-for-15 in the frame and made six of its 10 second-quarter points from the free throw line.
The third quarter started as a back-and-forth affair, with the Toppers taking an early lead and maintaining it until Loyola tied, 48-48, with two-plus minutes left in the frame. Thornton and O'Dell combined for all of Loyola's 12 points, and seven of those points came from the free throw line. Carroll made two more from the charity stripe to put Loyola back in the lead, and two more free throws by Thornton gave the Pack the 54-49 advantage with 10 minutes left to play.
O'Dell and Ava Shields quickly made it an eight-point lead in the early going of the fourth quarter, then scores by O'Dell and Travis kept Loyola ahead by multiple possessions, 62-56, halfway through the final frame. The Wolf Pack didn't need to make many field goals after that, going 8-for-11 from the free-throw line to help close out the win.
Pack Facts
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Alissa O'Dell led all scorers with 23 points, shooting 8-of-17 from the field and 7-of-8 at the free throw line. She also got it done defensively with two steals and two blocks.
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Deniya Thornton was second in scoring with 14 points, adding a game-high eight rebounds, two blocks, and a steal.
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Caitlin Travis and Tiarra McPipe each poured in 12 points in the game.
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