No. 6 seed Loyola women set to host first round of national tournament

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The field is now set for the NAIA Womne’s Basketball National Championship, presented by Ballogy, and four teams will play in The Den next Friday and Saturday for the chance to play at the tournament’s final site, Sioux City, Iowa.

The Loyola Wolf Pack earned a No. 6 seed, and they’ll play No. 11 Southeastern (Fla.) in the first round on Friday, March 15, at 5:30 p.m.

This will be a rematch between the two teams, as Loyola beat SEU, 55-53, on Nov. 3 in Montgomery, Alabama. Loyola has won the last two matchups against the Fire in the five-game series as well.

No. 3 Georgetown (Ky., 24-6) comes to New Orleans has the highest seed of the four teams, and it’ll play No. 14 Milligan (Tenn., 23-7) at 7:30 p.m. The winners of the two games will play at 5 p.m. on Saturday to determine which team advances to Sioux City for the Round of 16.

The Wolf Pack enters the national tournament with a 24-4 overall record with a 12-1 mark at home in The Den. After clinching their third straight SSAC Regular-Season title, the Pack captured their third SSAC Championship title in the last four years last week, and that was the program’s seventh SSAC tournament victory as well.

Sandra Cannady has led the team all season in scoring (16.7) and rebounding (9.3), and Taylor Thomas is next with 14.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Caitlin Travis adds 8.3 points per game, and Deniya Thornton (7.6) and Alissa O’Dell (7.6) are next. Thomas also leads the team in steals with 80 and Cannady has totaled 30 blocks.

Cannady earned SSAC Player of the Year honors for the second straight year, also earning her second career SSAC Championship Most Valuable Player award. Thomas was also named to the SSAC All-Conference First Team, and O’Dell, Travis and Thornton were placed on the All-Freshman Team.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, March 15 – First Round
Game 1 | 5:30 p.m. | #6 Loyola vs. #11 Southeastern (Fla.)
Game 2 | 7:30 p.m. | #3 Georgetown (Ky.) vs. #14 Milligan (Tenn.)

Saturday, March 16 – Second Round
Game 3 | 5 p.m. | Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

All times local (CDT)

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