The Matchup
- Loyola University Maryland women's basketball plays its first of three-straight road games on Monday, January 17, when it heads to Worcester, Massachusetts, to face College of the Holy Cross in a 5 p.m. game.
- The action will stream live on ESPN+ from the Hart Center.
Staying Busy
- Monday's game is the fifth out of seven the Greyhounds will play during a 15-day stretch from January 5-19. It was originally scheduled to be played on January 2.
- Moreover, of those seven games during the 15 days, five are on the road.
Last Time Out
- Lehigh made nine first-half 3-pointers and 14 in the game Saturday as the Mountain Hawks pulled away for a 72-61 Patriot League victory over host Loyola in Reitz Arena. More than half of Lehigh's 24 field goals came on their 3-pointers as they attempted 35 of 54 shots from behind the line in the game.
- Ella Stemmer made a three from the right wing in transition at 3:28 in the first quarter to provide the Mountain Hawks with a four-point lead, but Bri Rozzi scored two of her team-high 13 points on a floater in the lane 32 seconds later to pull Loyola back within a pair.
- Kaylee Van Epps widened the margin to four before the end of the quarter with a basket for Lehigh, the opening points of an 8-0 run. Mackenzie Kramer and Emma Grothaus both made threes in the first 2:06 of the second quarter to push the lead to 10.
- Rozzi and Chaira Roberts both knocked down jumpers for Loyola to bring the Lehigh lead back to single digits, but Van Eps hit a three at 5:46, and it was back to nine. After a Taleah Dixon field goal for the Greyhounds, Kramer made another to move the Mountain Hawks' lead to 28-18.
- Lehigh pushed the second-quarter lead to 12 on three occasions before Keegan Douglas made a three from the top-left of the perimeter for Loyola with less than two seconds left in the half, sending the teams to the locker room with the Mountain Hawks in front, 35-26.
- Loyola twice got the deficit down to eight early in the third on baskets by Caramina Tañedo and Rozzi, but Lehigh had answers to each. Dixon drove the baseline, scored on a reverse layup and made a free throw after being fouled at 7:45 in the third, drawing Loyola within seven, 41-34, but Lehigh responded with the next nine points.
- Rozzi's 13 points led Loyola, while Lex Therien managed her fourth-straight double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Douglas matched her career-high with nine points, a total also recorded by Dixon.
Rookie Honors
- Lex Therien was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week on January 10 after averaging 18 points and 12.5 rebounds in games against Boston University and Bucknell. The award was her third of the season and fourth this year for Loyola (Laura Salmerón).
First In Over A Decade
- With her 10-point, 10-rebound game on January 15 against Lehigh, Lex Therien recorded her fourth-straight double-double. She is the first Loyola player to have four in a row in 11 years since Miriam McKenzie did it four games in a row from January 22-30, 2011.
Therien Among Tops In Nation In Rebounding
- Lex Therien has made an immediate impact in her debut season, and with four-straight double-doubles, she now leads the Greyhounds in both points (11.6) and rebounds (10.3) per game.
- Her 10.3 rebounds per game lead the Patriot League and are No. 27 in NCAA Division I this season. She also ranks No. 2 amongst freshmen nationally in rebounds per game, trailing only DePaul's Aneesah Morrow (11.9).
- Per HerHoopStats.com, Therien and Morrow are the only two freshmen in Division I averaging a double-double this season, and they are two of 31 players of all years to do so.
- Therien is a three-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week, earning the award on Nov. 22, Dec. 6 and Jan. 10. She has scored in double figures in 9 of 12 games on the year, producing a season-high 23 points on January 8 at Bucknell.
- Therien has grabbed 6+ rebounds in every contest this season, and she posted double-doubles against Fairleigh Dickinson (Nov. 14) and Hofstra (Nov. 20) in back-to-back games early in the year; she then had posted double-doubles in the Greyhounds' last three games. In the game versus Bucknell, she posted a then-career-high 14 rebounds only to extend that high to 15 the following game at Lafayette.
Dixon Second In Scoring Average
- Taleah Dixon's 11.2 points per game are second on Loyola and rank 15th overall in the Patriot League. She scored a season-high 23 points (8-16 FG, 3-7 3FG) in a Dec. 4 win over Mount St. Mary's.
- Dixon also paces the Greyhounds in free throw percentage (85.7, 42-49). She is third among Patriot League shooters and 47th nationally in FT%.
- Dixon is one of three team captains for Loyola this season, along with Laryn Edwards and Bri Rozzi.
'Ria Stepping Up
- Sophomore Charia Roberts saw limited action as a freshman during the shortened 2020-2021 season, playing in 13 games and averaging 3.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game.
- This season, however, Roberts has averaged 28.5 minutes per game while starting all 14 contests, and she has responded with 8.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest.
- The Baltimore County native has scored eight or more points in eight games, and she has grabbed five or more rebounds seven times.
Using the Opportunity
- Caramina Tañedo had played just 22 minutes over her previous seven appearances, but the sophomore made the most of extended playing time of the year to-date in the Greyhounds' Patriot League opener against Boston University.
- She equaled those 22 minutes and scored a career-high 12 points, making four of the six 3-pointers she attempted. Her 12 points eclipsed her previous high of eight from the Greyhounds' season-opener at Niagara where she scored eight.
Using The Opportunity, Part Two
- Keegan Douglas has also seen her playing time increase over the past several games, averaging 17.3 over the last three. She saw 16 minutes of action against Lehigh, and she tied her to-date career-high with nine points.
Worth Noting
- The Greyhounds have been tied or led in the fourth quarter in nine of 14 games this season under first year head coach Danielle O'Banion.
- With her 23 points on Dec. 4 against the Mount, Taleah Dixon totaled 20+ points for the fourth time in her collegiate career, and the first time since she had a career-best 26 during the 2019 Patriot League quarterfinals at Bucknell.
- Loyola's 63-57 win over UMBC on Nov. 17 was the program's first victory after trailing by 14+ points in the second half since Feb. 10, 2012 vs. Iona (66-60).
- Loyola's overtime victory over FDU on Nov. 14 was the program's first in extra time since Jan. 2, 2017 at Lafayette. The Greyhounds are now 3-9 in OT dating back to March 4, 2011.
Four Newcomers Join Program in 2021-22
- Loyola's 15-member roster includes four freshmen who will be making their collegiate debuts this winter.
- Lex Therien becomes the third Therien sister to compete for the Greyhounds, joining current junior Ava Therien and 2021 graduate Isabella.
- Lex was a two-time All-State performer at Cherokee HS in New Jersey, leading the team to a 92-10 record and ranking third in program history with 1,283 points.
- Therien and fellow freshman Keegan Douglas were named co-South Jersey Players of the Year during their senior high school seasons.
- Douglas totaled 1,624 points at Haddonfield HS while helping the program win three Colonial Conference championships. She was chosen as the conference's Player of the Year in each of her final two seasons.
- Laura Salmerón joins Loyola after playing two seasons in Spain's second division basketball league. Salmerón, who also competed internationally for Spain's U-15 team, was a three-star ESPN recruit who received a 90 scouts grade.
- Jonelle Price was a key contributor at Neumann-Goretti HS in Philadelphia, helping the program win a PIAA Class 3A state title.
Smart Hounds
- Loyola posted a team grade-point average of 3.35 during the 2020-21 academic year. Laryn Edwards (3.66), Devyne Newman (3.54) and Bri Rozzi (3.54) all have cumulative GPA's above a 3.50.
- The program has a history of academic excellence, as the Greyhounds were named to the WBCA Division I Academic Top 25 Honor Roll for five-straight seasons from 2016-20.
- Loyola was one of just three schools nationally to crack the top 15 academically in each of those five years.
