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Loyola University Maryland Athletics

Lynn Fern

Women's Basketball

Women's Basketball Opens the 2024-25 Season on the Road at James Madison on Thursday Night

Match Information
Opponent                         at James Madison
Date Thursday, November 7, 2024
Time 7:00 p.m.
Location Harrisonburg, VA | Atlantic Union Bank Center
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Game Notes   Loyola Women's Basketball Game Notes (PDF)


The Matchup
  • The Greyhounds will open up the 2024-25 regular season with a road matchup against the James Madison Dukes. 
  • This will be the second meeting between the two programs, with the first meeting coming back in 1983. This will be the first time that Loyola plays a team from the Sun Belt Conference.

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. 
  • 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 James Madison
  • The Dukes come into the matchup with a 1-0 record on the season, as they are coming off of a 67-56 win over Kent State on the road. 
  • Four players scored in double figures in the win, led by Ro Scott, who had 19 points on 7-16 shooting. 
  • The Dukes return four of their top five scorers from a year ago, led by Peyton McDaniel, who led the team with 15.1 points per game last season. They also return Kseniia Kozlova who averaged 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds. 
  • The Dukes come into the season as the Preseson Favorites in the Sun Belt, earning 191 points in the Preseason Poll and 12 first place votes. 
  • McDaniel was also voted as the Preseason Player of the Year. 
  • James Madison is coming off of a 23-12 (13-5) season, where they reached the Sun Belt Championship, before losing in overtime to top-seeded Marshall.  

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, but played her high school basketball in Quebec. 

Worth Noting
  • Lex Therien comes into the season 19 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 a season opener since the 2017 season when they defeated Cornell 78-63. 

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's depth has been a big factor to their success last season, as they went 9-6 on the season when they lead the game in bench scoring. 
  • Loyola returns 88 percent of their scoring, 87 percent of their rebounding, and 87 percent of their minutes, which also doesnt include the return of senior Koi Sims, who missed the 2023-24 season due to injury. 

On the Mend
  • The Greyhounds come into the 2024-25 season with Koi Sims, Kailey Kalet, and Amandine Amorich returning to the team after missing time last season due to injury. 
  • Sims returns to the Greyhounds after missing the entire 2023-24 season. She looks to boost an already strong defensive team. Sims averaged 6.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in 20 games in 2022-23. 
  • Kalet returns after playing in just two games last season before suffering a season ending injury. She scored six points and grabbed one rebound in 10 minutes of action. 
  • Amorich returns after playing in 12 games, starting 8 of them. She scored a career-best 10 points against Monmouth off of the bench. 

In the Rankings
  • Loyola recieved votes in the CollegeInsider Women's Mid Major Top-25 poll that was released on October 29. 
  • This is the first time the Greyhounds have recieved votes in the poll. 
  • James Madison is ranked No. 13 in the Poll entering the season, as they defeated No. 16 Kent State in their season opener. 
  • The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Coastal Athletic, Conference USA, Horizon, Independent, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, Western Athletic.

2023-24 Recap
  • Loyola saw another win increase in O'Banion's third season at the helm, as they finished the season 16-15 (10-8) on the season. 
  • Their 16-15 record was their best record since the 2010-11 season, while also earning their best-ever finish since joining the Patriot League, finishing tied for second with a 10-8 record in league play. 
  • Danielle O'Banion was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year and was the first Greyhounds coach to earn the award since joining the league. 
  • Lex Therien set the Loyola Division I program record with 44 points against Lehigh. She also set the Loyola and Patriot League record with 21 made field goals in the win. 
  • Therien also broke the Loyola and Patriot League single-game rebounding record, grabbing 23 rebounds against Lehigh in the Patriot League First Round. 

Balanced Attack
  • Loyola's offense looks to continue on balanced attack during Patriot League play. 
  • During conference play, six players averaged over six points per game, including three players averaging double figures. 
  • Laura Salmeron and Kimmie Hicks found their stride in Patriot League play, as they averaged 12.0 and 11.7 points per game respectively.
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Players Mentioned

Amandine Amorich

#34 Amandine Amorich

Guard
5' 11"
Sophomore
Marta Espinal

#23 Marta Espinal

Forward
5' 11"
Junior
Cristina Garcia

#12 Cristina Garcia

Guard
5' 9"
Junior
Kimmie Hicks

#5 Kimmie Hicks

Guard
5' 9"
Sophomore
Kailey Kalet

#20 Kailey Kalet

Guard
5' 8"
Sophomore
Koi Sims

#10 Koi Sims

Forward
6' 0"
Senior
Lex Therien

#11 Lex Therien

Forward
6' 1"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Amandine Amorich

#34 Amandine Amorich

5' 11"
Sophomore
Guard
Marta Espinal

#23 Marta Espinal

5' 11"
Junior
Forward
Cristina Garcia

#12 Cristina Garcia

5' 9"
Junior
Guard
Kimmie Hicks

#5 Kimmie Hicks

5' 9"
Sophomore
Guard
Kailey Kalet

#20 Kailey Kalet

5' 8"
Sophomore
Guard
Koi Sims

#10 Koi Sims

6' 0"
Senior
Forward
Lex Therien

#11 Lex Therien

6' 1"
Senior
Forward