On Feb. 13, the Loyola University Maryland Greyhounds faced-off against the American University Eagles in a hard-fought match that the Eagles triumphed in after a significant number of made free throws, winning 67-56. Senior Bri Betz-White created momentum for her team in the first quarter, sparking an 11-3 run against the Eagles to put the Greyhounds ahead 16-12. The Eagles answered right back with five uncontested points, putting them ahead 17-16 to take them into the second quarter.

American started off the second quarter strong, breaking ahead by 10 points and making them seem impossible to slow down. Stephanie Karcz ‘20 ended their run as Loyola scored the next six points to cut their deficit to two. Going into halftime, Loyola was only down 30-28, prepared to gain the lead in the second half.

The Eagles started the second half stronger than ever as they went on a 9-2 run against the Greyhounds, putting them ahead 39-30. The Greyhounds made a miraculously 10-point run to gain the lead at 40-39 as the Eagles defense started to crumble. After a pair of made free throws, the Eagles ended the third quarter with 41-40 as the two teams prepared to battle it out in the final quarter.

The Eagles started the quarter with an easy basket, but Betz-White kept the Greyhounds in the game with an and one conversion, tying the game at 43-43. The Eagles again pushed ahead with only a few minutes to go in the game, but not ready to give up, the Greyhounds were able to cut their deficit, making it a four-point game at 60-56. With less than a minute to play, the Greyhounds attempted to foul their way to a hopeful victory, but with seven made free throws, the Eagles overcame the Greyhounds with a 67-56 win.

After a tough loss, the Greyhounds were on the road again to face the Lafayette Leopards on Saturday, Feb. 16. Delaney Connolly ‘21 helped lead the Loyola Greyhounds to a 55-52 win over the Leopards with a career-high 25 points.

The first quarter was filled with back-to-back action as the two teams continued to produce a tied score. Each 3-pointer was answered by the other team until the Leopards were able to hit a 3-pointer that Loyola was only able to answer with a jumper to close out the first quarter 11-10.

Led by Hannah Niles ‘20, the Greyhounds were able to take the lead at the start of the second quarter. The Leopards ultimately pulled ahead by four as Loyola fought back from the deficit with multiple 3-pointers. Lafayette wasn’t finished as they answered back each 3-pointer until Connolly helped the Greyhounds tie the score at 23 with her far out 3-pointer. The teams continued to fight for the lead, but the Greyhounds went into the locker room at halftime being down by only one at 27-26.

Loyola struggled to keep their energy up as the Leopards took the lead early in the third quarter, 37-27. Connolly again motivated her team as they cut down the deficit to five. She then went on a personal 11-4 run to tie the game at 46. While at first the Greyhounds couldn’t seem to take the lead, they nailed a 3-pointer that put them ahead by one at 49-48. The Leopards again took the lead, but as the Greyhounds continued to make jumpers and all their free throws, they were able to trump Lafayette with a final score of 55-52.

Feature image by Loyola athletics