WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Junior Stephanie Karcz recorded her second collegiate triple-double and six Greyhounds reached double-figures in scoring as the Loyola University Maryland women's basketball team closed out the 2018 calendar year and its non-conference schedule with a 75-67 win over Monmouth at the OceanFirst Bank Center Saturday afternoon.
 
Karcz secured her 10th rebound in the third quarter and then grabbed a pair of steals – her ninth and 10th – at the start of the fourth quarter to become the second player in program history to record double-digit steals in a game. A lay-up with 7:01 to play in the game gave her double-digit points and her second collegiate triple double.
 
Junior Alexis Gray led the Greyhounds with 15 points, including five 3-pointers, while sophomore Delaney Connolly and freshman Taleah Dixon joined Karcz with 12 points. Redshirt senior Bri Betz-White finished with 11 points and junior Hannah Niles contributed 10.
 
Karcz also finished with a game and season-high seven assists, while Dixon added a personal-best five assists.
 
Monmouth's Sierra Green led all players with 18 points, while Lucy Thomas had 11 rebounds for the Hawks.
 
Monmouth drained a pair of treys to start the game, but the Greyhounds used a Connolly jumper, a free throw from Dixon and a layup by Karcz to chip their deficit to one, 6-5, at the 3:47 mark.
 
Monmouth scored seven of the final nine points in the quarter though, including draining a 3-pointer at the buzzer, to earn a 13-7 lead at the first break.
 
Connolly's step-back jumper started the second-quarter scoring and then Grey hit from downtown to bring Loyola within three, 15-12, at the 8:30 mark. Karcz' steal and Betz-White's layup at 6:41 kept the Greyhounds within three, 17-14, but Monmouth stretched its lead to seven, 21-14, with a four-point run.
 
Dixon's triple sparked an 8-0 run that saw Betz-White turn Karcz's steal into a fast-break layup and then junior Molly Taylor knocked down a clutch 3-pointer that gave Loyola its first lead, 22-21, at the 3:37 mark.
 
A 3-pointer from the Hawks quickly gave the lead back to Monmouth, though.
 
Niles' free throw kept the Greyhounds within one, 24-23, but a 7-0 run gave Monmouth an eight-point advantage, 31-23. Connolly hit a 3-pointer to halt the streak and the Hawks answered with a jumper to end the half with a 33-26 lead.
 
The Greyhounds came out of the break and outscored the Hawks 31-14 in the third quarter to earn a 57-49 lead. Karcz started the scoring and then Niles and Betz-White knocked down baskets to bring Loyola within three, 35-32. A three-point play stretched the Hawks' lead back to six, but Connolly and Niles sandwiched triples around Monmouth's field goal to pull within two, 40-38.
 
Gray's 3-pointer at 5:44 forced the Hawks to call a timeout with a one-point advantage, 42-41, but they wouldn't be able to hold onto their lead as Niles and Karcz stretched Loyola's run to seven-straight points, giving it a 45-42 lead at the 4:06 mark.
 
From that point on, Loyola outscored Monmouth 12-7 to account for the eight-point, 57-49, advantage at the end of the third quarter.
 
The Greyhounds extended their lead to double-digits, 65-55, on Gray's 3-pointer at the 5:37 mark, but that wouldn't be enough to quiet Monmouth, as the Hawks used a 6-1 run to cut their deficit to five, 66-61, with 2:36 to play.
 
Gray quieted the run with another triple, but the Hawks answered with their own to stay within five, 69-64, at the two-minute mark. Karcz' field goal at 1:28 started a 5-0 Greyhound run that gave Loyola another 10-point advantage, 74-64, with 30 seconds to play. The Hawks connected from downtown with 17 seconds to go, but Dixon's free throw capped off the scoring in the game.
 
The Greyhounds will now break for the holidays before beginning Patriot League play on Thursday, January 3 against Navy. Tipoff is set for noon at Reitz Arena.