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Women's Basketball Heads to #16 Notre Dame for 2019-20 Season Opener on Friday

Match Information
Opponent #16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Date Friday, November 8, 2019
Time 6:30 p.m.
Location Notre Dame, Ind.  | Purcell Pavilion
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BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland women's basketball kicks off its 2019-20 season with a challenging road matchup at 2017-18 Division I national champions Notre Dame on Friday night.

This begins a stretch of eight games out of nine away from Reitz Arena to begin the year for the Greyhounds.

Last Season

  • The Greyhounds went 7-24 (5-13) a year ago, ranking eighth out of 10 teams in the Patriot League standings. Loyola topped Navy by a 58-45 final in the Patriot League opening round before falling at Bucknell in the quarterfinals.
  • Sr. F Stephanie Karcz earned third team All-Patriot League and All-Defensive Team status in 2018-19, while So. G Taleah Dixon became the fifth Greyhound in the last six years named to the conference's All-Rookie Team. 
  • Loyola returns six players who earned double-digit starts last season in Karcz, Dixon, Jr. F Isabella Therien, Jr. F Delaney Connolly, Sr. G Alexis Gray and Sr. G Hannah Niles.
  • Therien, the 2018 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, averaged a team-high 14.3 ppg before missing the last nine contests due to injury.

More on Karcz

  • Stephanie Karcz has received seven Patriot League postseason awards in her first three collegiate seasons. The 2017-18 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, she is a three-time All-Defensive Team selection, a two-time All-Patriot League performer (first team in 2017-18), and she was also an All-Rookie Team honoree as a freshman.
  • Karcz enters the year with 921 points and 799 rebounds, giving her a chance to become the fourth player in team history to reach 1,000 in both categories.
  • Karcz has ranked fourth in DI in steals per game in each of the last two seasons (4.24 spg in 2018-19). Her 311 career steals are second all-time at Loyola, 36 back of the team record.
  • Karcz set a new single-game team and Patriot League record with 22 rebounds in last year's playoff game against Navy. She also holds Loyola's single-season rebounding record, grabbing 317 boards as a sophomore in 2017-18.
  • Karcz has 286 career assists (ninth all-time at Loyola), 19 career double-doubles and two triple doubles.

Series History

  • This will be the third meeting all-time between the two sides, and the first since Dec. 19, 1992.
  • Loyola dropped that contest, which was held in Baltimore, by a 55-48 margin, and the Greyhounds fell 84-49 on the road in the first meeting on Dec. 21, 1991.
  • The last Loyola win over an ACC school came on Nov. 17, 1998, when the Greyhounds topped former ACC member Maryland by a 50-43 final.
Scouting Notre Dame
  • The Fighting Irish came within a point of repeating as National Champions last season, falling 82-81 to Baylor in the national title game. They have reached 24 straight NCAA tournaments overall.
  • Notre Dame loses all five starters from last year's squad. The entire starting five was selected in the top 20 of the WNBA draft, with Jackie Young chosen as the No. 1 overall pick. In total, Notre Dame lost 3,201 points out of its 3,454 total from a year ago.
  • Notre Dame, ranked No. 16 in the AP preseason poll, kicked off its 2019-20 campaign with a 60-55 road win at defending Atlantic 10 champions Fordham on Tuesday. Sophomore Katlyn Gilbert and freshman Sam Brunelle led the way with 14 points apiece.

Gray Approaching 3-Point Milestone

  • Sr. G Alexis Gray enters the year ranked tied for fourth in team history with 121 career 3-pointers made. She is 36 back of program-record holder Nicole Krusen (2011-14).
  • Gray set a single-season team record with 64 made 3-pointers as a sophomore in 2017-18.
  • She ranked second in the Patriot League in 3's per game that season (2.2), and she was third in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (35.2, 64-182).
  • Gray has totaled 10+ points on 28 occasions through her first three collegiate seasons.
Coaching Staff Addition
  • The Greyhounds added a former collegiate and WNBA standout to their coaching staff this summer, with Chasity Melvin joining Loyola for her first year as an assistant coach.
  • Melvin, a 1998 NC State graduate, was the first in team history to reach 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, leading the Wolfpack to the Final Four as a senior.
  • She was a first-round WNBA draft pick, ultimately playing 12 seasons in the league.
  • Melvin became the first female coach in the history of the Charlotte Hornets franchise when she joined their G-League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, for the 2018-19 season.

Logan Returns for 15th Season as Head Coach

  • Head coach Joe Logan, a 1996 Loyola graduate, has led the Greyhounds women's basketball program since the 2005-06 season.
  • The winningest coach in program history, he has amassed 176 victories during that span while guiding the Greyhounds to three conference championship games.
  • Loyola has advanced to the Patriot League quarterfinals in each of the last four seasons, including a championship game appearance in 2015-16.
  • Logan has coached 12 all-conference performers during his tenure, 11 All-Rookie Team honorees and five major conference award winners.
  • The Greyhounds have also consistently been among the nation's best in the classroom under Logan. Loyola was named to the WBCA Division I Academic Top 25 Honor Roll for a fourth-consecutive season this summer.
  • The Greyhounds are one of just three schools nationally to rank in the top 15 academically in each of the past four years, reaching as high as No. 5 following the 2017-18 season.

Incoming Freshmen Class

  • Five freshmen (Emma Glezen, Emily McAteer, Bri Rozzi, Ava Therien and Mackenzie Wagner) will join the Loyola roster for 2019-20.
  • The group is composed of three guards and two forwards, and they represent three different states (New Jersey - Therien, New York - Glezen and Rozzi and Pennsylvania - McAteer and Wagner).
  • Therien is the younger sister of current junior Isabella Therien.
Off-Court Notables
  • Sr. F Stephanie Karcz is balancing her commitment to basketball this semester with a full-time internship student teaching at a local Baltimore area elementary/middle school. She is an elementary education major with a minor in special education.
  • Jr. F Delaney Connolly, a chemistry major with a 3.98 GPA, has completed a pair of internships at Johns Hopkins with the goal of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. Connolly averaged 9.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game last season while earning starts in 23 contests.
  • In addition to the Therien sisters, there is also a brother/sister duo playing basketball at Loyola this season. Daraun Gray, the younger brother of Sr. G Alexis Gray, joined the men's basketball program as a freshman this fall.
  • Sr. G Molly Taylor played for England's national team at the FIBA U20 Women's European Championships in 2017.

I. Therien Among Patriot League Offensive Leaders

  • When healthy, Jr. F Isabella Therien has been one of the top offensive threats in the conference over the last two years, averaging 14.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game across her first 42 collegiate appearances.
  • Therien ranked fourth in the Patriot League at 15.2 ppg during her Rookie of the Year campaign in 2017-18. A six-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week, her 396 points were the most for any Loyola freshman under Joe Logan.
  • Therien scored 10+ points in 10 of 16 appearances last year before her season-ending injury.
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Players Mentioned

Delaney Connolly

#23 Delaney Connolly

Forward
6' 0"
Junior
Taleah Dixon

#4 Taleah Dixon

Guard/Forward
5' 10"
Sophomore
Alexis Gray

#20 Alexis Gray

Guard
5' 6"
Senior
Stephanie Karcz

#10 Stephanie Karcz

Guard
5' 11"
Senior
Hannah Niles

#32 Hannah Niles

Guard
5' 9"
Senior
Molly Taylor

#12 Molly Taylor

Guard
5' 9"
Senior
Isabella Therien

#13 Isabella Therien

Forward
6' 1"
Junior
Emma Glezen

#11 Emma Glezen

Forward
6' 1"
Freshman
Emily McAteer

#34 Emily McAteer

Forward
6' 0"
Freshman
Bri Rozzi

#22 Bri Rozzi

Guard
5' 7"
Freshman
Ava Therien

#35 Ava Therien

Guard
5' 10"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Delaney Connolly

#23 Delaney Connolly

6' 0"
Junior
Forward
Taleah Dixon

#4 Taleah Dixon

5' 10"
Sophomore
Guard/Forward
Alexis Gray

#20 Alexis Gray

5' 6"
Senior
Guard
Stephanie Karcz

#10 Stephanie Karcz

5' 11"
Senior
Guard
Hannah Niles

#32 Hannah Niles

5' 9"
Senior
Guard
Molly Taylor

#12 Molly Taylor

5' 9"
Senior
Guard
Isabella Therien

#13 Isabella Therien

6' 1"
Junior
Forward
Emma Glezen

#11 Emma Glezen

6' 1"
Freshman
Forward
Emily McAteer

#34 Emily McAteer

6' 0"
Freshman
Forward
Bri Rozzi

#22 Bri Rozzi

5' 7"
Freshman
Guard
Ava Therien

#35 Ava Therien

5' 10"
Freshman
Guard