BALTIMORE – Loyola hits the road for the first time since Dec. 8 on Saturday, traveling to Lafayette for a Patriot League matchup beginning at 2 p.m. Facing opponents who are a combined 8-1 in Patriot League play, the Greyhounds have dropped their first three conference games by a combined 12 points.
Last Time Out
- Colgate used a 6-0 run over the final 2:56 of regulation to pull out a 76-74 win over Loyola on Wednesday. Abby Schubiger sank the go-ahead layup with 44 seconds remaining for the Raiders (10-4, 2-1).
- Laryn Edwards scored a career-high 19 points to lead the offensive output for Loyola. She hit 3 of 6 attemps from 3-point range and was 10 for 10 from the free throw line.
- The Greyhounds had four players score 10+ points for a second time this season, with Stephanie Karcz (18 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four steals), Emily McAteer (14 points, seven rebounds) and Delaney Connolly (10 points, six rebounds) joining Edwards in double figures.
- Another close game for Loyola featured 15 ties and 20 lead changes.
Series History
- Loyola leads 9-8 in a series which dates back to 1978.
- The Greyhounds swept both meetings a year ago, winning 62-50 at home on Jan. 20 and 55-52 in Easton on Feb. 16.
- Delaney Connolly poured in a career-high 25 points (7-12 FG, 5-9 3FG) in the most-recent matchup between the two sides.
- Loyola has won six of the last eight games in the series overall dating back to the 2015-16 season.
Scouting Lafayette
- The Leopards (5-8, 1-2 Patriot League) are coming off a 57-56 defeat to Holy Cross on Wednesday, with Lauren Manis converting a go-ahead 3-point play with eight seconds remaining in regulation.
- Lafayette has dropped 5 of 6 games overall, with the lone win a 59-57 triumph at Boston U to begin conference play on Jan. 2.
- Jr. F Natalie Kucowski ranks second in Division I in rebounds per game (13.5) and she is 19th nationally at 2.5 blocks per game.
- Kucowski, who averages a team-high 13.3 points per game, is also tied for 7th in DI with nine double-doubles. She was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year in 2018-19.
- As a team, Lafayette leads the Patriot League in blocks per game (4.7), FG% defense (35.5) and 3-point FG% defense (26.1).
Karcz Approaching Major Steals Milestone
- Stephanie Karcz is only three steals away from becoming the 27th player in Division I history to reach 400 for her collegiate career.
- Karcz continues to lead DI with 6.1 steals per game (86 total), ranking nearly a full steal above her next-closest competitor. She recorded 6+ thefts in 10 consecutive games from Nov. 13 - Jan. 2.
- The DI single-season record for steals per game is 6.4, a mark held by two players.
- Karcz is one of two active players in Division I with 1,000 career points (1,091), 500 rebounds (928), 300 assists (345) and 200 steals (397).
- Other steals records potentially within reach include her own Loyola single-season record (123 in 2018-19) and the Patriot League single-season record of 168, which was established by Lafayette's Heidi Caruso in 1992-93.
- Karcz was one of 15 players across Division I selected to the Her Hoop Stats Mid-Major Player of the Year Watch list on Monday.
Perfect from the Line
- Aided by Laryn Edwards' 10 for 10 effort, Loyola finished a perfect 15 for 15 from the free throw line in Wednesday's defeat to Colgate.
- The Greyhounds shot 100 percent from the charity stripe (minimum 10 attempts) for just the third time in program history.
- The team record is a 19 for 19 performance at Niagara on Feb. 24, 2002. Loyola went 14 for 14 against Howard on Nov. 27, 2011.
- Hannah Niles (91.7%, 11-12), Bri Rozzi (86.2%, 25-29), Alexis Gray (84.6%, 22-26) and Delaney Connolly (84.6%, 11-13) are all shooting over 80 percent on the year.
- Loyola ranks fourth in the Patriot League with a collective team FT% of 70.3.
Quick Notes
- Emily McAteer is averaging 14.0 points and 7.7 rebounds over the last three games, including a season-high 18-point effort against Holy Cross on Jan. 2.
- Laryn Edwards (36.8%, 14-38) and McAteer (35.9%, 14-39) are both shooting over 35 percent from 3-point range this season.
- Stephanie Karcz enters the weekend ranked No. 7 all-time at Loyola with 345 assists. She is four back of Mary Thompson (1990-94) in sixth and eight away from passing Katie Sheahin (2009-13) and moving into the top five.
- Though she does not have enough field goal attempts to qualify for the NCAA leaderboard, Ava Therien currently leads all Patriot League shooters in FG% (55.1, 43-78).
Loyola's bench has outscored opposing reserves in 9 of 14 games this season.
- With her 40 minutes played on Sunday, Laryn Edwards became the first Greyhound to play the entire game since Bri Betz-White in last year's regular season finale at Boston University.
Active Hands on D
- Loyola leads the conference and ranks 14th nationally in steals per game (12.0).
- The Greyhounds set a new season-high with 17 steals on Dec. 31 vs. Dartmouth, their most in a game since Nov. 10, 2017 against Cornell.
- The school record for steals is 18, a mark which has been reached on six separate occasions.
Sharing the Ball
- Loyola ranks 2nd in the Patriot League with 14.9 assists per game this season.
- Stephanie Karcz (4.3 apg) ranks fourth individually while Alexis Gray (3.2 apg) is eighth.
- Loyola has recorded 10+ assists in every game this season. Its season-high was a 21-assist effort against Howard on Nov. 20.
Looking Ahead
- Loyola remains on the road for a 6 p.m. tilt at Boston University next Wednesday.
