BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland begins a run of four games out of five away from home with a Saturday afternoon 4 p.m. tilt at Navy. The Greyhounds will be looking for their first road victory since Feb. 13 at FDU.
Last Time Out
- A potential game-winning basket fell short in the final seconds, sending Loyola to a 41-39 home defeat at the hands of Boston University on Wednesday.
- The Greyhounds were down one coming out of a timeout with seven seconds remaining, but the Terrier defense forced a miss, grabbed the rebound and sank 1 of 2 free throws on the other end to seal the contest.
- Stephanie Karcz led Loyola with 16 points (8-21 FG), four steals, four rebounds and a pair of blocks. The four thefts moved her career total to 429, tying her with Northwestern's Ashley Deary for 14th all-time in Division I history.
- BU (10-10, 5-4) completed a season sweep, with both victories by just two points.
Series History
- Navy leads 21-10 in a series which dates back to 1978.
- Loyola won two of the three meetings last year, including a 58-45 home win in the Patriot League tournament opening round on March 9. Stephanie Karcz had 12 points and a Loyola/Patriot League record 22 rebounds, while Delaney Connolly led all scorers with 16 points in that contest.
- The teams have met in three of the last four conference tournaments. Navy won 63-55 in the 2018 quarterfinals, while Loyola topped the Mids 44-42 in the 2016 quarters.
Scouting Navy
- The Mids (7-13, 2-7) have lost 10 of their last 12 games overall, with the lone wins in that span coming against Boston U (46-41) on Jan. 22 and Army West Point (57-45) on Jan. 25.
- Navy, which has been held under 60 points in all 12 of those contests, ranks last in the conference in scoring offense (53.1 ppg).
- The Mids are also last in the Patriot League in FG% (35.7), FT% (59.7) and FG% defense (42.8).
- Navy is coming off a 57-43 setback at Holy Cross on Wednesday.
- Sr. G Mary Kate Ulasewicz had a team-high 12 points in that defeat. She has reached double figures in four of Navy's last five games overall.
Karcz Among NCAA, Patriot League Leaders
- Stephanie Karcz has led Division I in steals per game for a majority of the season. She is currently averaging 5.9 thefts through Loyola's first 20 contests.
- Karcz's 118 steals this season are already the fifth most in Patriot League single-season history, and she is five back of her own school record of 123 (set last year).
- Among Patriot League players, Karcz also ranks 13th in scoring (11.9 ppg), third in rebounds per game (9.4) and fourth in assists per game (4.0).
- Karcz is one of two players nationally with multiple triple-doubles on the year, joining Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu. She has four triple-doubles overall in her collegiate career.
- Karcz's 12 thefts against Army on Jan. 18 were the most by a DI player this season, were tied for Loyola's program record, and were the most ever in a Patriot League game.
- There have only been 20 instances in DI this year where a player has recorded 9+ steals in a game, and Karcz has accounted for four of them.
- Karcz was one of 15 players across Division I selected to the Naismith Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year Midseason Team last week, and she was one of 30 announced as candidates for this year's Senior CLASS Award back on Jan. 17.
Quick Notes
- Stephanie Karcz is the NCAA's active leader in steals (429) and she is tied for 14th overall in DI history. Next up on the all-time list are Indiana State's Melanie Boeglin (444) and UConn's Nykesha Sales (449).
- Laryn Edwards hit both of her free throw attempts on Wednesday, and she is now 30 for 31 (96.8%) from the line during Patriot League play.
- Five of Loyola's seven Patriot League defeats have been by three points or fewer (four by two points).
- Loyola's +9 rebounding margin last Saturday (32-23) was its highest in Patriot League play and its second-highest overall on the year.
- The Greyhounds lead the Patriot League in turnovers forced per game (19.6) and rank second in 3-point FG% defense (28.2).
Karcz Nearing Another Major Milestone
- Stephanie Karcz has grabbed double-digit rebounds in six Loyola's last eight games, and she is now up to 987 boards for her collegiate career.
- That leaves her 13 away from becoming the fourth Loyola player all-time to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds with the program. Karcz scored her 1,000th career point at Florida Atlantic back on Nov. 29.
Active Hands on D
- Loyola leads the conference and ranks 13th nationally in steals per game (11.4).
- The Greyhounds matched the program record with 18 steals in their win over Army on Jan. 18.
- Loyola has recorded double-digit steals in 13 of 20 games on the year.
Looking Ahead
- Loyola has a week off before traveling to Patriot League-leading Bucknell next Saturday.
