On Saturday, Jan. 18, the Loyola Greyhounds women’s basketball team competed against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, where they faced an unfortunate loss in the last quarter. Still, the Hounds played strong and multiple players still had only positive things to say about the team.
The final score was close, with Lehigh defeating the Greyhounds 54-43. It was the Greyhounds’ second game back home with the Loyola student section. Despite the loss, the players maintained a positive attitude towards their team and the season overall, especially with fans present in the crowd.
“It feels nice to have an audience, especially since before we weren’t playing in front of anybody,” guard Meliah Van-Otoo ’26 said.
The scores between the two teams were fairly close the entire game. The Greyhounds were able to end the first quarter in the lead with a score of 14-8. In the second quarter, Lehigh scored 10 points, with the Greyhounds scoring 8. The second half of the match started with a score of 22-18, with the Greyhounds still in the lead. The game was close, with both teams in the third quarter scoring 12 points each.
With 4:05 minutes left in the fourth quarter, senior guard Laura Salmerón ‘25 was able to score a layup that extended the Greyhounds’ lead to 41-38. Upperclassmen guards Colleen McQuillen and Maddie Albrecht responded with a three-pointer and a layup for Lehigh, which tipped the scales in Mountain Hawks’ favor. Lehigh was up 43-41 with 3:07 minutes left in the game.
At 2:33 left in the game, Senior forward Koi Sims ‘25 was able to tie the game at 43-43 with a rebound from Salmerón’s previous scoring attempt.
Lehigh eventually took back the lead, with a score 47-43. The Greyhounds unfortunately could not stop the Mountain Hawks at the foul line, as Lehigh secured the win with a score of 54-43. The Greyhounds now have a 7-10 record overall, and are 1-5 in the Patriot league.
Though this past game ended up being a loss for the Greyhounds, Sims was not deterred from expressing her gratitude for her teammates and the sport.
Sims said, “I feel very blessed that God gave me an opportunity to get back on the court and that my team is able to trust me.”
Garnering 18 points for the team, Salmerón was the highest scoring player of the afternoon for the Greyhounds. She was followed by sophomore center Lily Bottomley who scored 6 points. Sims had 14 rebounds, and Bottomley had three as well.
At the end of the game, Sims still had a positive outlook on the rest of the season.
“I am looking forward to continuing to play with this team and get better. I just want to stack up more wins with my team and become more cohesive,” Sims said.
The Greyhounds will be playing Holy Cross on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m..