Loyola clinches SSAC women’s basketball regular season title on Senior Day

NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans women’s basketball team got to celebrate more than just Senior Day on Saturday. The Wolf Pack took down second-place Talladega, 98-77, in The Den, and the win gave Loyola the Southern States Athletic Conference Regular-Season Title for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign.

The Pack (17-5, 11-3 in SSAC) will now hit the road for their final two games on the schedule, traveling to Stillman and Blue Mountain next Thursday and Saturday to close out the regular season.

Loyola shot 50 percent from the floor, including 2-for-4 from the 3-point line, in the opening quarter to take a 25-19 lead after 10 minutes. Scores by Tay Cannon and Sandra Cannady, along with free throws by Cannady and Kennedy Hansberry, helped give Loyola an early 7-3 lead. Cannon made another shot then Taylor Thomas hit the team’s first 3-pointer of the game to push the score to 12-3 just three minutes into the game. The Pack missed just two shots during that opening stretch, and the team recorded four steals to hold Talladega’s offense down.

Talladega made a run, though, cutting the Loyola lead to 20-15 with two-plus minutes left in the quarter, but Jazmene McMillan made a 3 and Kennedy made another field goal to give Loyola a 25-19 lead after the first.

The second quarter had less scoring than the first and a lot closer, too, as the Pack won the quarter, 17-16, to take a 42-35 lead into halftime. Scores by Tera Snell, McMillan and Hansberry in the first half of the second quarter helped make it an eight-point Wolf Pack lead, 31-23, but the Tornadoes scored six straight points to cut the deficit to three, 32-29, with three and a half minutes until halftime. The two teams traded buckets over the next couple of minutes before Loyola used a quick 6-0 run to help take a seven-point lead into the break.

The Wolf Pack blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Tornadoes 22-9 in the frame. They used a 16-0 run after Talladega scored the quarter’s first points to extend the advantage to 58-37 with three-plus minutes until the fourth quarter. Liz Critton got the run started, and after two Hansberry free throws, Thomas scored the next five points to continue the Wolf Pack’s hot streak. Hansberry and Cannon added field goals, then Thomas made another 3 to cap off the run. Loyola would continue to dominate the third, taking a 64-44 lead into the final 10 minutes.

The fourth quarter was a high-scoring affair, but Talladega couldn’t make up any ground on the Pack. Loyola’s 34-point fourth nearly put it over the 100-point, too, as the Pack finished off the Tornadoes to clinch the No. 1 seed in the SSAC tournament later this month.

PACK FACTS
This is just the second Southern States Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship for the Wolf Pack since joining the SSAC prior to the 2010-11 season. Loyola also had the best record in the conference last season, but there was no regular-season champion as the conference was split into East and West divisions.

After scoring 26 in the last game against Talladega, Kennedy Hansberry set another career-best with 29 points. She also had three steals and four assists.

Loyola had three players score at least 20 points, with Tay Cannon and Taylor Thomas each totaling 23.

Thomas also had four rebounds, three steals, and eight assists, tying her best mark of the season.

In addition to her 23 points, Cannon also led the team in rebounds (8) and steals (5).

Tera Snell blocked three shots on Saturday, giving her 50 for her career. She’s 10th all-time in career blocks at Loyola, with Tay Cannon right behind her at 49 blocks.

You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.