Matchup History
- The Greyhounds will be back at home on Saturday afternoon, as they will host the Navy Midshipmen at 5 PM for their annual Play4Kay game.
- This will be the 32nd meeting between the two programs, with Navy holding an 18-13 edge in the series. Both teams have split their last four meetings, with the home team winning all four games. The Greyhounds defeated Navy at home last season, 74-50, but lost at Navy 63-43.
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.
Play4Kay
- Play4Kay is the largest fundraising initiative of the Kay Yow Fund. Kay Yow, was an Olympic gold medal-winning and Naismith hall of fame coach, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, before passing away in 2009.
- Play4Kay serves as a way to honor all women who are currently or previously fought against cancer, and is a way to unite players, coaches, and fans.
- This initiative takes place across the country in Division I around the end of January.
- Head Coach Daniele O'Banion was diagnosed with Stage 2 lymphoma cancer while she was at Kent State, and coached every game while going through treatment.
- "Although we lost Coach Kay Yow 15 years ago, her legacy is very much alive. The Kay Yow Cancer Fund has awarded more than $8 million dollars in grants to fight cancers affecting women. I've personally benefited from the tremendous support the movement gives survivors. I am grateful and proud to #Play4Kay."
Scouting Navy
- The Midshipmen come into the matchup with a 6-12 (2-5) record on the season. They are coming off of a 59-48 win over Bucknell on Wednesday night.
- Navy ranks 6th in points scored (61.6) and last in points allowed (67.6) in the Patriot League this season.
- They are led in scoring by two freshman; Zanai Barnett-Gay and Kyah Smith, who are averaging 17.9 points and 12.1 points respectively. Barnett-Gay ranks second in the Patriot League in scoring.
- Barnett-Gay leads the Patriot League in steals, averaging 3.2 per game, which ranks ninth in NCAA Division I.
- Navy and Loyola sit at the bottom of the Patriot League in opponent three-point percentage on the season, with opponents shooting 35.6 percent adn 35.4 percent respectively on the season.
- In their win over Bucknell, they held the Bison to just 28.1 percent shooting in the 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.
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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 third in the Patriot League in scoring this season, averaging 16.8 points per game. She is also second in rebounds per game, averaging 10.2 per game. Therien also is first in the Patriot League in field goal percentage with 57.8 percent.
- Therien also ranks nationally, ranking 13th in double-doubles, and 21st in rebounds per game.
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Kelly Ratigan ranks tied for second in the Patriot League in three-pointers made per game, averaging 2.1 three-pointers per game. She's shooting 31.5 percent from three point range this season.
By The Numbers
- The Greyhounds this season are 4-1 on the year when they lead going into halftime.
- They are also 7-1 when leading in rebounds, with their lone loss coming against St. Bonaventure.
- Loyola is 8-1 when they shoot better from the field than their opponents, but 0-9 when their opponents finish with a better shooting percentage.
- When scoring at least 60 points, the Greyhounds have gone 5-1 on the season.
- The Greyhounds defense ranks third in the Patriot League, allowing just 60.9 points per game this season. They also rank third in the Patriot League in turnovers this season, averaging just 14.7 per game.
- Loyola is fourth in the Patriot League in Team Free Throw Percentage, shooting 70.4 percent from the line.
