Loyola women’s basketball played its season opener against William and Mary on Friday in Williamsburg, Pa., and it was a nail-biter from start to finish. The Greyhounds fell to the Tribe, 72-71, on a final fast-break layup just four seconds before the game ended.

William and Mary’s Jazmen Boone was then able to steal the ball right before the final buzzer sounded.

The Hounds had strong performances from their newcomers during the game. Junior Colleen Marshall, a transfer from East Carolina, led both teams with 28 points. Freshman Bri Betz-White scored 14 points. Both players combined for a total of eight three-pointers.

As a team, the Greyhounds drained 10 three-point field goals, which ties for the seventh-most in a single game in program history.

Senior Steph Smith, who missed all of last season with an ACL injury, had a set of successful free throws to contribute to the Greyhounds’ offensive success. Marshall continued to score five points and a set of free throws as well.

As a team, the Hounds made just 61 percent of their free throw attempts, while the Tribe shot 77.8 percent from the charity stripe.

With just over five minutes to play, junior Diana Logan hit a shot to put Loyola within five of the Tribe. Junior Jeneh Perry also contributed to the score with some layups under the basket. She also had seven offensive rebounds, and 13 total boards. Logan hit a three-point basket to give the Hounds a 71-68 lead with just under two minutes remaining.

With one minute to play, Loyola led by a point before William and Mary set up a fast-break play with four seconds left. That final layup put the Tribe up 72-71 to win the game.

The Greyhounds next have three tough non-conference road games against Georgetown, Maryland and Pittsburgh, and won’t open at home until Dec. 4 against Towson.