Matchup History
- The Greyhounds are back on the road on Saturday afternoon, as they travel to square off against the Army West Point Black Knights, in a pivotal Patriot League matchup.
- This will be the 27th matchup between the two programs, with the Black Knights holding the series edge, 18-8. Army won their first meeting this season in Baltimore, 55-45. The teams split their season series last season, with both road teams winning. Saturday's matchup will be a key game for Patriot League standings, as both teams currently sit tied for second place with two games remaining
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 last time the Greyhounds finished the season .500 or better was during the 2015-16 season, when they finished 16-16. This was also the last time they finished .500 or better in conference play (11-7).
- Loyola currently sits tied for second place in the Patriot League with Boston and Army, as they are all 8-6 in conference play, and have to play both Army and Boston once more.
Patriot League Play
- The Greyhounds own a 9-7 record in Patriot League so far this season, and sit tied for second place with Army, Boston, and Colgate.
- In conference play, three Greyhounds are averaging double-digits.
Lex Therien (15.4) leads the way for Loyola, while Laura Salmeron (12.3) has started to heat up. Freshman
Kimmie Hicks (11.2),
Kelly Ratigan (7.9) and
Ava Therien (7.1) have also played well.
- Therien has continued her dominance on the boards, averaging 9.8 rebounds per game.
- The Greyhounds have had success in the second half during conference play, outscoring opponents by a combined 70 points in the second half, including a 56 point difference in the third quarter.
Scouting Army West Point
- The Black Knights come into the matchup with a 12-14 (9-7) record on the season and are coming off of a win over American on Tuesday evening.
- Prior to the win over American, Army had lost their two previous games to Lehigh and Bucknell.
- The Black Knights rank last in the Patirot League in team field goal percentage, shooting 36.5% from the field. They also are last in opponent field goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot 44.3 percent from the field.
- Trinity Hardy leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.0 points per game. Kya Smith, Reese Ericson, and Fiona Hastick are each averaging 9.6, 9.2, and 9.2 points per game each, respectively.
- Kya Smith ranks fourth in the Patriot League in rebounding, averaging 7.6 rebounds per game.
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 tied for third in the Patriot League in scoring this season, averaging 16.1 points per game. She is also second in rebounds per game, averaging 10.0 per game. Therien also is tied for first in the Patriot League in field goal percentage with 55.2 percent.
- Therien also ranks nationally, ranking 27th in double-doubles, and 27th in rebounds per game.
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Kelly Ratigan ranks tied for fourth in the Patriot League in three-pointers made per game, averaging 2.0 three-pointers per game.
By The Numbers
- The Greyhounds this season are 8-3 on the year when they lead going into halftime.
- They are also 11-3 when leading in rebounds, with their lone losses coming against St. Bonaventure and Bucknell, twice.
- Loyola is 13-2 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 have gone 11-1 on the season.
- The Greyhounds defense ranks third in the Patriot League, allowing just 61.2 points per game this season. They also rank second in the Patriot League in turnovers this season, averaging just 13.7 per game.
- Loyola's depth has been a big factor to their success this season, as they are 9-6 on the season when they lead the game in bench scoring.
- They have also been clutch down the stretch, going 4-2 in games decided by 3 points or less.
Therien's Career Day
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Lex Therien had a career-day in the Greyhounds win over Lehigh.
- Therein finished the day with 44 points on 21-25 shooting from the field.
- 44 points and 21 field goals set the Loyola program record for points and field goals in a game, while the 21 field goals set a Patriot League record for a single game.
- 21 field goals is the most field goals made in a single-game in NCAA Division I this season, while her 44 points tie her with Caitlin Clark for the fifth most points scored in a single game this season.
- Therien scored her 44 points with just two made free throws, which is the fewest free throws made in a 40-point performance in recent history.
