No. 25 Loyola wins second straight SSAC women’s basketball tournament championship

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – For the second consecutive year, and the sixth time in the last eight seasons, the Loyola University New Orleans women’s basketball team has been crowned the Southern States Athletic Conference Champions.

The top-seeded Wolf Pack (22–5) defeated No. 2 seed Talladega 73-50 on Saturday in the title game at the 2022 SSAC Women’s Basketball Championship, officially earning an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship. The NAIA will announce the Opening Round brackets on Thursday, March 3, with Loyola set to host one of the opening round tournaments.

Loyola found itself down early, as Talladega scored the first two points of the game and proceeded to go ahead 8-2 less than three minutes in. The Wolf Pack battled back, however, tying the game at 10 apiece with 2:30 to go in the first. Sandra Cannady scored eight points in six minutes, giving Loyola a 14-12 advantage by the end of the opening period.

Talladega shut down the Pack for much of the second frame, building as large as a seven-point lead at 24-17 with 3:30 to go in the first half. Once again, Loyola came roaring back, firing off 10-straight points to take a lead again. The Tornadoes hit a three as the first half ended, and the teams went to the break tied 27-27.

Loyola carried momentum into the second half, out-scoring Talladega 19-12 in the third quarter. The teams were close for a while, as the score remained tied at 31-31 three minutes in, but the Pack once again rattled off 10 points in a row as they began to take control of the game.

After the Tornadoes trimmed Loyola’s lead to 46-39 with 10 minutes remaining, the Wolf Pack hit another gear. Loyola dominated their opponents 27-11 in the final quarter, led by Tay Cannon’s 12 fourth-quarter points, to secure the crown.

PACK FACTS
– This is the sixth SSAC Championship tournament title for head coach Kellie Kennedy. Loyola has been crowned SSAC Champions in six of the last eight tournaments.

– Loyola out-scored opponents by an average of 31 points per game during the tournament.

– Tay Cannon had a career game to help Loyola capture the championship. The senior put up 25 points and 13 rebounds, both career highs, for her third double-double this season and fourth of her career.

– Two other players scored in double figures for the Pack: Sandra Cannady with 14 and Sydni Tangle with 10.

– Tangle couldn’t miss from long range, as she was 3-for-3 on her three-point attempts.

– Taylor Thomas hit the only other three-pointer for Loyola. She finished with nine points and a game-high four assists.

– Four different players grabbed two steals: Cannon, Thomas, Tera Snell, and Jazmene McMillan. Loyola totaled 10 steals as a team, and this is the eighth consecutive game in which the team has reached double digits in that category.

ALL-TOUNAMENT

Leading the Wolf Pack were senior Tay Cannon and junior Sandra Cannady, and both were named to the SSAC All-Tournament Team on Sunday, with Cannon earning Most Valuable Player honors.

Both Wolf Pack players were named to the SSAC All-Conference First Team last week, too, adding to their list of accomplishments this season.

Cannon produced one double-double during the week, which came in Saturday’s title game against Talladega. The senior’s performance against the Tornadoes was easily her best of the week as well, scoring 25 points with 13 rebounds, two steals and assists each, and a block. In the tournament-opening win over Blue Mountain, the Greenville, Alabama, native scored seven points with a team-high seven rebounds, then she notched 15 points with three rebounds and two assists in the semifinal win over William Carey. She averaged 15.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists throughout the week.

Cannady scored in double figures in two of the three games, starting the week with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists against the Lady Toppers before an eight-point, three-rebound outing against the Crusaders. In the championship game, the junior posted 14 points, seven boards and a block to help seal the title, averaging 11.6 points and 5.3 boards in the three games.

Loyola (22-5) will now turn its attention to the national tournament next month, and it’s preparing to host the NAIA Opening Round at Tulane’s Devlin Fieldhouse March 11-12. A tournament schedule and other details will be announced soon.

SSAC WOMEN’S ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Tay Cannon – Loyola (MVP)
Sandra Cannady – Loyola
Kameron Shelley – Talladega
Monet Brown – Talladega
Lauren Rowley – William Carey
Angel McRae – Brewton-Parker

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.