Larry French

Women's Basketball 11/22/2024 1:41:00 PM

Women's Basketball Welcomes UNC Asheville to Reitz Arena on Saturday Afternoon

Match Information
Opponent	UNC Asheville
Date	Saturday, November 23, 2024
Time	2:00 p.m.
Location	Baltimore, Md. \| Reitz Arena
Tickets	Purchase Tickets
Getting There	Directions
Online Media	ESPN+ l Live Stats
Follow Us	Twitter \| Instagram
Game Notes	Loyola Women's Basketball Game Notes (PDF)

The Matchup

The Greyhounds will return to Reitz Arena on Saturday, as they will host UNC Asheville in a non-conference matchup..
This will be the first meeting between the two programs on Saturday as the Bulldogs make the trip up to Baltimore.

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.

Victor Day

The Greyhounds will host UNC Asheville on Saturday for our annual Victor Day game.
During Victor Day, we welcome and invite all friends, family, and fans, in conjunction with Lifebridge Health, who have won the fight against cancer, or continue to fight, as we celebrate cancer survivors throughout the game.
Greyhounds Head Coach Danielle O'Banion coached the 2014-15 season at Kent State while in treatment for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer, during which she coached every game. In recognition of this effort, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USWBA) presented her the Pat Summit Most Courageous Award in 2016.

Scouting UNC Asheville

The Bulldogs come into the matchup with a 0-4 record on the season and are coming off of a 59-48 loss to UNC Greensboro on Tuesday.
Over their last two games, they failed to reach the 50 point threshold, after scoring 62 points against Virginia Tech on November 13.
Abigail Wilson leads the team in scoring, as she is averaging 9.5 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounds, averaging 6.0 per game.
As a team, they are averaging 52.3 points per game on 37.0 percent shooting this season.
In the Big South Preseason Poll, UNC Asheville was picked to finish in last place, earning only 17 points in the poll.
The Bulldogs are coming off of a 2023-24 season where they finished 11-20 (4-12) on the season, where they beat Gardner-Webb in the opening round of the Big South Tournament, before losing to top-seeded High Point in overtime.

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

With seven rebounds against St. John's Lex Therien became the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 career rebounds. She now has over 1,000 career points and rebounds.
Therien comes into the season with 47 career double-doubles.
The Greyhounds went 8-7 at home last season.

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