Larry French

Women's Basketball 11/12/2024 3:05:00 PM

St. John's Travels to Baltimore for a Mid-Week Matchup

Match Information
Opponent	St. John's Red Storm
Date	Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Time	7:00 p.m.
Location	Baltimore, Md. \| Reitz Arena
Tickets	Purchase Tickets
Getting There	Directions
Online Media	ESPN+ l Live Stats
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Game Notes	Loyola Women's Basketball Game Notes (PDF)

The Matchup

The Greyhounds will host the St. John's Red Storm on Wednesday evening in a non-conference matchup.
This will be the 2nd meeting between the two programs, with the first meeting come last season, when St. John's won 71-49 in Queens.

Quick Hits

The Greyhounds return the bulk of their roster from the 2023-24 season, as they return 88 percent of their scoring, 87 percent of their rebounding, and 87 percent of their minutes played.
Loyola was picked as the preseason favorites in the Patriot League after receiving 148 points and 10 first place votes in the poll. This marks just the second time since 2000 that the Greyhounds were picked as preseason favorites (2004-05, MAAC).
Lex Therien was also named the Preseason Player of the Year entering the 2024-25 season, which is the first Greyhounds player since Katie Sheahin in 2012-13 to be named the Preseason Player of the Year.

Non-Conference Play

The Greyhounds will begin the regular season with a road test against the James Madison Dukes on November 7.
Five of Loyola's 11 non-conference games will be at home in Reitz Arena this season, with their home opener coming on November 10 against cross-city foe UMBC.
They will then host Big East foe St. John's on November 12th to continue their non-conference schedule.
Loyola got out to a strong start in non-conference play last season, starting off 3-1 on the season, including three straight wins.

Scouting St. John's

The Red Storm come into the matchup with a 2-0 record after recording wins over Saint Peter's and LIU.
They have won both games by over 25 points through two this season.
Lashae Dwyer, a transfer from Miami, has led the team in scoring, averaging 14.0 points per game, while Kylie Lavelle, a transfer from Penn State, is second on the team, averaging 12.5 points per game.
Their offense has been on fire through two games. They have shot 51.8 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three point range.
Defensively, they have been strong, having forced an average of 24.5 turnovers per game in their first two games.
Ber'Nyah Mayo was named to the Big East Preseason All-Big East Team entering the 2024-25 season.
The Red Storm were picked to finish in fourth place, behind UConn, Creighton, and Providence in the Preseason Poll.

The International Connection

Coming into the 2024-25 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.

Worth Noting

Lex Therien is now 6 rebounds shy of 1,000 career rebounds. She would become just the fifth player in program history to eclipse the 1,000 career rebounds mark, and the fifth player to eclipse the 1,000 career points and rebounds mark.
Therien comes into the season with 47 career double-doubles.
The Greyhounds have not won over a Big East opponent since the 2007-08 season when they defeated Villanova, 49-47.

By The Numbers

Last season, the Greyhounds were 8-3 on the year when they lead going into halftime.
They were also 13-4 when leading in rebounds, while going 15-3 when they shoot better from the field than their opponents, but 1-11 when their opponents finish with a better shooting percentage.
When scoring at least 60 points, the Greyhounds went 11-2 on the season.
Loyola returns 88 percent of their scoring, 87 percent of their rebounding, and 87 percent of their minutes, which also doesn't include the return of senior Koi Sims, who missed the 2023-24 season due to injury.
In NCAA Division I, the Greyhounds rank fifth in highest percentage of returning scoring, with Oklahoma returning 98 percent of their scoring.
Loyola also ranks in the top three in highest percentage of returning rebounding and minutes from last year's team.
Danielle O'Banion is one of two coaches who enter their fourth season at the helm who have seen win increases in each season and a 16-game difference from when they took over, with Vanessa Blair-Lewis at George Mason as the other coach.

Players Mentioned