Matchup History
- The Greyhounds will be back at home on Wednesday, as they will host the Bucknell Bison at 7:00 PM.
- This will be the 30th meeting between the two programs, with Bucknell holding a 23-6 edge. The Bison have won their last 8 games against the Greyhounds, with their last win coming in the 2019-20 season. In their two meetings last year, the Bison won 56-50 and 73-37.
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.
Patriot League Play
- The Greyhounds own a 4-4 record in Patriot League so far this season. This is the first time they have been 4-4 or better since the 2016-17 season.
- In conference play, three Greyhounds are averaging double-digits.
Lex Therien (15.9),
Kimmie Hicks (11.2), and Laura Salmeron (10.3) have led the team in scoring over the past month.
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Lex Therien has continued her dominance on the boards, averaging 9.5 rebounds per game in Patriot League play.
- Salmeron,
Cristina Garcia, and Therien have been sharing the ball, averaging 2.5, 2.4, and 2.1 assists per game each, respectively.
- The Greyhounds have had success in the second half during Patriot League play, outscoring opponents by a combined 42 points in the second half, including a 22 point difference in the fourth quarter.
Scouting Bucknell
- The Bison come into the matchup with an 5-14 (2-6) record on the season.
- They are averaging a Patriot League-low 53.1 points on the season on 37.1 percent shooting.
- Emma Theodorsson leads the team with 12.2 points per game, while Ashley Sofilkanich, the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Week, is averaging 11.6 points per game.
- Theodorsson and Sofilkanich both lead the team in rebounding, averaging 5.5 and 5.3 respectively.
- Sofilkanich trails just Boston's Caitlin Weimar in blocks per game, as she is averaging 2.1 blocks per game this season.
- In the Patriot League Preseason Poll, the Bison were picked to finish in sixth place, tallying 79 points in the poll.
- The Bison are coming off of 2022-23 season where they went 13-17 (9-9) and lost to Lehigh in the Patriot League Quarterfinals.
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 16.6 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 57.4 percent.
- Therien also ranks nationally, ranking 13th in double-doubles, and 25th 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 9-1 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 6-1 on the season.
- The Greyhounds defense ranks fourth in the Patriot League, allowing just 61.3 points per game this season. They also rank second in the Patriot League in turnovers this season, averaging just 14.4 per game.
- Loyola is fourth in the Patriot League in Team Free Throw Percentage, shooting 70.4 percent from the line.
