PHILADELPHIA - The Loyola University Maryland women's basketball team's comeback fell just short Sunday afternoon as the Greyhounds fell to Saint Joseph's, 49-46, in the final game of the Hawk Classic at Hagan Arena.
 
Sophomore Isabella Therien named to the All-Tournament Team after leading all players with 19 points. Therien also led the Greyhounds with nine rebounds, while senior Bri Betz-White contributed 11 points and junior Stephanie Karcz had seven rebounds, four assists and five steals.
 
For Saint Joseph's, Katie Mayock had a team-best 15 points and Michala Clay had a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
The Hawks pulled away with a 6-2 lead by the first media timeout, but the Greyhounds' defense came out of the break and used a pair steals to spark a 9-2 run that flipped the score to 11-8 in favor of Loyola.
 
Saint Joseph's ended the quarter with a layup at the buzzer, but the Greyhounds opened the second quarter on a 12-0 run to pull ahead 23-10 on Connolly's trey at the 4:45 mark. The Hawks answered with their first four points of the stanza, but Gray and Betz-White combined for points to get Loyola to 26. Saint Joseph's concluded the half with five-unanswered points to bring the score to 26-18 at the break.
 
Loyola went cold from the floor in the third quarter, getting outscored 24-8. With all eight points coming off of free throws, the Greyhounds relinquished its lead and the Hawks pulled head 42-34 by the end of the 10 minutes.
 
Therien's trey at the 7:33 mark of the fourth quarter though sparked a 10-2 run that pulled Loyola within three, 47-44, with 4:15 to play. The Hawks answered with a pull-up jumper at 3:37 before Therien's turnaround jumper at the 3:12 mark kept the Greyhounds within three, 49-46, but that would be all of the scoring in the game, as Saint Joseph's held on for the win.
 
The Greyhounds will return home to face Mount St. Mary's in a Loyola-Mount basketball doubleheader on Saturday. The men's squads will tipoff at 1 p.m., followed by the women at 4 p.m.