Matchup History
- The Greyhounds are back in Reitz this week, as they will host Bryant at 11 AM on Wednesday for Field Trip Day.
- This will be the 2nd meeting between the two teams, with their first meeting coming last season, when the Greyhounds won 69-64 at Bryant.
Quick Hits
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Danielle O'Banion is in her third season as the Greyhounds' head coach and returns 11 players from last year's team, including Preseason All-Patriot League nominee
Lex Therien.
- The Greyhounds reached the Patriot League Quarterfinals in 2022-23.
- Therien was named to Second Team All-Patriot League last season, where she averaged a career-high 15.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per game on 49.1 percent shooting.
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Lex Therien was named to the Patriot League Preseason All-League team for the second straight season.
Welcome to the Greyhounds
- The Greyhounds welcome five newcomers to the team in 2023-24.
- Center
Aminata Hernandez joins the team from the Canary Islands, Spain. She becomes the fourth player on the Greyhounds from Spain.
- Guard
Kimmie Hicks joins the team from Annapolis, Maryland. Hicks was named to the IAAM All-Conference during her senior season.
- Guard
Kailey Kalet joins the team from Union Springs, NY. She was named the NYSPHSAA Section IV Player of the Year during her senior season.
- Wing
Amandine Amorich joins the team out of Montpellier, France, and is the fifth international player on the Greyhounds roster.
- Lastly, Center
Lily Bottomley joins the team from Canal Fulton, Ohio. She was named the OHSBCA Division 2 State Player of the Year during her senior season.
Scouting Bryant
- The Bulldogs come into the matchup with an 4-5 record on the season. They are coming off of a overtime win over Sacred Heart on Saturday.
- After starting the season 3-1, the Bulldogs have lost four of their last five games.
- Mariona Planes Fortuny leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.9 points per game. Mia Mancini is second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game.
- Planes Fortuny leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.1 rebounds per game.
- As a team, the Bulldogs are averaging 60.6 points per game on 41.4 percent shooting. They are averaging 6.8 three pointers per game on 32.6 percent from three point range.
- Mancini is coming off of being named the America East Rookie of the Week, an award she has earned three times this season.
- The Bulldogs were picked to finish in seventh place in the America East Preseason Poll, receiving 18 votes.
The International Connection
- Coming into the 2023-24 season, five players are from outside of the United States, with four of them coming to Loyola from Spain.
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Cristina Garcia, Laura Salmeron,
Marta Espinal, and Ami Hernandez all are from Spain, with Garcia, Salmeron, and Espinal coming from Barcelona, and Hernandez coming from the Canary Islands.
- The other international is
Amandine Amorich, who is from Montpellier, France, but played her high school basketball in Quebec.
Worth Noting
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Lex Therien ranks second in the Patriot League in scoring this season, averaging 16.6 points per game. She is also first in rebounds per game, averaging 10.4 per game. Therien also is first in the Patriot League in field goal percentage with 53.3 percent.
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Kelly Ratigan ranks second in the Patriot League in three-pointers made per game, averaging 2.7 three-pointers per game. She's shooting 38 percent from three point range this season.
- The Greyhounds rank fourth in the Patriot League in points against, allowing 58.3 points per game.
A Look Back
- Loyola finished the 2022-23 season with a 10-21 (4-14) record, which saw a five-win improvement from O'Banion's first season at the helm.
- They also won the most non-conference games in 12 seasons with six non-conference wins on the season.
- They also showed improvement on the road, winning their most road games in a season since the 2015-16 season.
- The Greyhounds also won their first conference tournament game since the 2018-19 season.
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Lex Therien set the Loyola record for most individual rebounds in a season (344), the highest rebounding average in a season (11.1), and most defensive rebounds in a season (251).
