Matchup History
- The Greyhounds will begin a two-game homestand on Wednesday, as they will host Lafayette on Wednesday evening.
- This will be the 29th meeting between the two programs, with Lafayette holding a 18-10 lead. The Greyhounds have won the last three meetings, with each of them coming at Lafayette, including in the Patriot League Quarterfinals last season. Their last win at home came in in the 2018-19 season. Loyola won the first meeting this season 67-60.
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 6-5 record in Patriot League so far this season. This is the first time Loyola has been .500 or better since the 2016-17 season.
- In conference play, two Greyhounds are averaging double-digits.
Lex Therien (14.9) leads the way for Loyola, while Laura Salmeron (10.4) has started to heat up. Freshman
Kimmie Hicks (9.8),
Ava Therien (8.0), and
Kelly Ratigan (8.0) has also started league play strong.
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Lex Therien has continued her dominance on the boards, averaging 10.0 rebounds per game in Patriot League play.
- The Greyhounds have had success in the second half during conference play, outscoring opponents by a combined 48 points in the second half, including a 25 point difference in the fourth quarter.
Scouting Lafayette
- The Leopards come into the matchup with a 8-14 (3-8) record on the season, and are coming off a 70-68 loss to Lehigh on Saturday.
- They have won two of their last three games, picking up wins against American and Army prior to the Lehigh loss.
- The Leopards rank last in the Patriot League in scoring (56.9) during conference play, while ranking 4th in points allowed (60.0).
- Abby Antognoli (13.2 ppg) and Makayla Andrews (12.6 ppg) have led the way this season for the Leopards.
- Antognoli ranks third in the Patriot League in three-pointers per game, with 2.1 per game.
- In the first meeting, Andrews scored 18 points, while Antognoli scored 16 points in the meeting. Salmeron had 21 points, while
Lex Therien had 17 points for Loyola.
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 16.2 points per game. She is also second in rebounds per game, averaging 10.4 per game. Therien also is first in the Patriot League in field goal percentage with 55.4 percent.
- Therien also ranks nationally, ranking 15th in double-doubles, and 20th in rebounds per game.
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Kelly Ratigan ranks fifth in the Patriot League in three-pointers made per game, averaging 1.9 three-pointers per game.
By The Numbers
- The Greyhounds this season are 6-2 on the year when they lead going into halftime.
- They are also 8-2 when leading in rebounds, with their lone losses coming against St. Bonaventure and Bucknell
- Loyola is 11-1 when they shoot better from the field than their opponents, but 0-10 when their opponents finish with a better shooting percentage.
- When scoring at least 60 points, the Greyhounds have gone 8-1 on the season.
- The Greyhounds defense ranks fourth in the Patriot League, allowing just 60.6 points per game this season. They also rank second in the Patriot League in turnovers this season, averaging just 14.2 per game.
- Loyola's depth has been a big factor to their success this season, as they are 7-4 on the season when they lead the game in bench scoring.
- They have also been clutch down the stretch, going 4-1 in games decided by 3 points or less.
