Matchup History
- The Greyhounds will continue Patriot League play on Wednesday, as they travel to face off against the American Eagles.
- This will be the 33rd meeting between the two programs, with the Eagles holding an 26-6 edge. American has won the last eight contests between the two schools. The Greyhounds have not won at American since 2/27/16, when they won 55-50. The Eagles won both meetings last season by a score of 53-37 and 67-59.
Quick Hits
-
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.
-
Lex Therien was named to the Patriot League Preseason All-League team for the second straight season.
Non-Conference Recap
- The Greyhounds finished non-conference play with a 5-6 record, recording wins against Binghamton, UMBC, St. Francis, Mount St. Mary's, and Delaware State.
- In the 11 non-conference games, the Greyhounds averaged 53.3 points per game on 39.5 percent shooting, while they allowed 60.3 points per game on 42 percent shooting.
- Following their season opening loss to West Virginia, the Greyhounds won three straight games, by an average margin of 4.3 points in those games.
- The Greyhounds started strong at home, posting a 3-2 record during non-conference play.
- They capped off non-conference play with a 16-point fourth comeback victory over Delaware State. The Greyhounds outscored the Hornets 23-5 in the come from behind win.
Scouting American
- The Eagles come into the meeting with an 6-9 (4-0) record on the season. They have won four straight games to start confrernce play, including a 91-87 win in double overtime over Boston.
- The Greyhounds and Eagles had two-like opponents in non-conference play in Monmouth and UMBC, with the Eagles losing to both teams, while the Greyhounds defeated UMBC.
- The Eagles are averaging 63.2 points per game this season on 41.6 percent shooting. The Eagles offense ranks third in the conference, while they are ninth in the Patriot League in scoring defense.
- Emily Johns is the lone scorer averaging double figures, as she is averaging 11.7 points per game. In total, there are eight players averaging at least five points per game.
- Ivy Bales is tied with
Lex Therien for third in the Patriot League in steals per game, averaging 2.1 per game.
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.
-
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
-
Lex Therien ranks third in the Patriot League in scoring this season, averaging 17.8 points per game. She is also second in rebounds per game, averaging 10.4 per game. Therien also is first in the Patriot League in field goal percentage with 56.7 percent.
- Therien also ranks nationally, ranking 13th in double-doubles, and 22nd in rebounds per game.
-
Kelly Ratigan ranks tied for second in the Patriot League in three-pointers made per game, averaging 2.2 three-pointers per game. She's shooting 33.3 percent from three point range this season.
- The Greyhounds rank third in the Patriot League in points against, allowing 61.1 points per game.
More on Therien
-
Lex Therien has had a strong start to her junior campaign, as she is once again averaging a double-double.
- Therien scored a season-high 27 points in the Greyhounds come from behind win, scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter.
- In the win over Delaware State, Therien became the 24th player to reach 1,000 career points in program history.
- She also reached the mark in the second fewest games in program history (70), trailing just Patty Stoffey ('91-95)
- Therien was also named as the Patriot League Player of the Week following her performance against Delaware State. This was the second Player of the Week award she has earned in her career, also having won it once last season.
