The Matchup
- It's finally game time for Loyola's women's basketball program, as the Greyhounds return to the court for a season-opening pair of matchups against American this weekend. (UPDATE: Due to American awaiting requested COVID-19 testing results, Loyola will now open its season at Bucknell this weekend. The games against American will be rescheduled following discussions with the two schools and the Patriot League office.)
- Saturday's 2 p.m. matchup at Bucknell, will be the first contest for Loyola's athletic department since the tennis teams swept Coppin State back on March 12, a period which spans 296 days
Patriot League Format Changes for 2020-21
- In response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the Patriot League has instituted several changes to the basketball schedule for this season. To limit team travel, Loyola and American are grouped with Navy in the newly-created South division.
- Bucknell, Lafayette and Lehigh make up the Central division, while Army West Point, Boston University, Colgate and Holy Cross are in the North.
- Loyola's four matchups against both American and Navy in January will count in the divisional standings, which will be used to determine seeding in this year's conference tournament. The Greyhounds have two extra games against American on the weekend of February 20, but those games will not count towards the division standings.
- Eight teams will qualify for the conference tournament, rather than the usual 10. Winners of each division will be seeded 1-3, while second-place teams will be seeded 4-6. The final two spots will be awarded based on overall win percentage against conference opponents.
Patriot League Begins Partnership with ESPN+
- The Patriot League announced in September a multi-year agreement which makes ESPN+ the exclusive digital home for the conference's sporting events, beginning with the 2020-21 academic year.
- All Loyola women's basketball games this season will be available on ESPN+, which can be purchased for either $5.99 a month or $49.99 annually. Fans can also subscribe to ESPN+ as part of the Disney Bundle, which includes Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (ad-supported) for just $12.99/month.
- More information regarding how to watch the Greyhounds on ESPN+ is available HERE.
Looking Back
- Loyola went 8-22 (5-13 PL) overall during the 2019-20 season, ranking eighth in the Patriot League standings and falling 72-65 to Army in the first round of the conference tournament. The Greyhounds had advanced to the quarterfinals in each of the previous four seasons, including a championship game appearance in 2016.
- Stephanie Karcz closed out her Loyola career in style, as she became the program's first NCAA statistical champion after leading Division I with 5.17 steals per game.
- The 2020 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and a first team all-conference selection, Karcz also led the Greyhounds in points (11.6), rebounds (9.4) and assists (3.6) per game.
- She graduated with 1,258 career points (ninth all-time at Loyola), 1,071 rebounds (second), 390 assists (fourth) and 461 steals (first). Her steals total is ranked ninth all-time in Division I.
- Other departures from the 2020 squad include Alexis Gray, Ashley Hunter, Hannah Niles and Molly Taylor.
- Gray's 147 made 3-pointers are the third-most in program history. She appeared in 94 games and scored 872 points in her Loyola career.
- Niles was the lone Greyhound to start all 30 games last season, averaging 5.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game on the year.
Moving Forward
- Loyola returns a pair of starters from last year's squad, with Sr. F Delaney Connolly and Jr. G Laryn Edwards both once again expected to play key roles for the Greyhounds.
- Connolly has led the team in 3-pointers made in each of the last two seasons, hitting 41 3's as a sophomore and 32 shots from long distance last winter. She averaged a career-high 9.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in 2018-19, and enters her final season with 602 career points, 360 rebounds and 89 made 3-pointers.
- Edwards took over as the team's primary point guard last winter after injuries limited her to seven games as a freshman. She averaged 7.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, leading the team in 3-point FG% (34.9, 22-63) and ranking second in both assists (66) and steals (34).
I. Therien, Dixon Look to Return to Form
- Sr. F Isabella Therien and Jr. G Taleah Dixon, both major contributors to Loyola's 2018-19 squad, return to action this season after combining for just two appearances due to injuries last winter.
- Therien accounted for those two games played, seeing action in a pair of December non-conference games before her injury setback. She was Loyola's leading scorer in each of her first two collegiate seasons, earning Patriot League Rookie of the Year status in 2018 after averaging 15.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest. She added 14.3 points and 5.6 boards in the first 16 games of an injury-shortened 2018-19 season.
- Dixon, who missed all of last year due to an offseason injury, was a Patriot League All-Rookie Team selection following a debut season in which she contributed 9.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Her 80.2 FT% (69-86) led all Patriot League freshmen, and she ended the year with a career-high 26-point effort at Bucknell in the conference quarterfinals.
Walker, Wynn Return Home to Round Out Coaching Staff
- There are two new faces for Loyola on the sidelines this year, with Candice Walker '11 M'13 and Maya Wynn both joining the program as assistant coaches.
- Walker returns to her alma mater after spending six seasons as UMass, where she helped the Minutewomen post their first 20-win season (20-11) since 1996 last winter. She received the WBCA's prestigious Thirty Under 30 award in 2019, an honor that recognizes up-and-coming coaches at all levels of women's basketball.
- As an undergrad at Loyola, Walker appeared in 117 games across six seasons after receiving two medical redshirts. A standout at nearby Towson Catholic in high school, Walker was a MAAC All-Rookie Team honoree in 2008 after dishing out a freshman program-record 93 assists while contributing 8.2 ppg.
- Wynn is also a Maryland native, as she won a pair of IAAM A-Conference championships at McDonogh prior to attending Saint Francis University. A four-year starter at SFU, Wynn led the Red Flash to the NCAA tournament after claiming a Northeast Conference title as a senior in 2018.
- Wynn joins Loyola after spending the past year and a half as an assistant at Albright College, a Division III school in Reading, Pennsylvania. While there, she helped the Lions improve their win total by 10 games during the 2019-20 season, as they finished the year 22-6 and earned an at-large spot in the NCAA DIII tournament.
McAteer Leads Strong Group of Sophomores
- So. F Emily McAteer became the sixth Loyola freshman in the last seven years to earn Patriot League All-Rookie Team status after averaging 7.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game against conference opponents last season.
- McAteer reached double figures in seven games last winter, including a season-high 18 points vs. Holy Cross on Jan, 2.
- So. G Bri Rozzi and So. G Ava Therien also contributed heavily in their debut seasons. Rozzi was one of three players to appear in every game (along with McAteer and Hannah Niles), and she ranked tied for third with 22 made 3's. Therien led all Greyhounds with a 52.1 FG% (50-96) in her 23 appearances.
- So. F Emma Glezen is also back for Loyola. She appeared in seven games last fall before an injury ended her season in late November.
St. Joe's Transfer, Four Freshmen Join Program
- There are five newcomers to the roster this season, with Jr. G Devyne Newman, a transfer from St. Joseph's, joined by freshmen Charia Roberts, Kayla Sieper, Bella Steidle and Caramina Tañedo.
- Newman appeared in 40 games across two seasons for the Hawks, earning the team's Best Defensive Player award last winter.
- Steidle's mother, April (Auer) Steidle, was a member of Loyola's women's basketball program from 1990-94.
Smart Seniors
- Delaney Connolly became the first in program history to earn Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolades last winter, and she was also the first CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree for the program since 2006. A chemistry major who is studying to become an orthopedic surgeon, Connolly holds a 3.97 grade-point average through her first three years at Loyola.
- Fellow senior Isabella Therien is also a standout in the classroom. She has a 3.71 GPA while majoring in business administration, and was one of three Greyhounds (along with graduated seniors Stephanie Karcz and Hannah Niles) to record a perfect 4.0 GPA last spring.
Logan Returns for 16th Season as 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 enters the 2020-21 season with 184 victories while guiding the Greyhounds to three conference championship games.
Logan has coached 12 all-conference performers, 12 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 fifth-consecutive season this summer after posting a team GPA of 3.665 during the 2019-20 academic year..
- The Greyhounds are one of just three schools nationally to crack the top 15 academically in each of the past five years, ranking 15th on last year's Honor Roll and reaching as high as No. 5 following the 2017-18 season.
Looking Ahead
- Loyola begins South division play next weekend, traveling to Navy on Saturday and hosting the Mids at Reitz Arena at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
