March 20, 2008

JACKSON, Tenn. - Fourth-seeded Loyola (La.) University New Orleans led by as many as 25 points before wrapping up a 73-64 first-round win over Westminster (Utah) College at the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship.

 

Sophomore guard Trenell Smith scored a tournament-high 28 points, including three of Loyola's 10 three-pointers in the game, and she also grabbed seven rebounds and had three steals for the Wolfpack.

 

Loyola turned a 10-7 lead with 13:23 left in the opening half into a 29-13 advantage over the next five minutes, putting together a 19-6 run that was capped by one of senior guard Kiely Schork's five three-pointers. Westminster answered with 13 straight points to cut the lead to 29-26 with 4:15 left and trailed by just four points at 36-32 in the final minute of the half.

 

Another Schork trey with 34 seconds left in the period pushed the Wolfpack's halftime advantage to 39-32, and it was the beginning of a 25-7 run that stretched over 11 minutes into the second half. Schork hit a three-pointer with 8:23 left in the game to give Loyola its largest lead of the game at 64-39. Over the next four minutes, Westminster battled back to within 10 points with an 18-3 run of its own, but Loyola maintained at least a nine-point margin over the final four minutes to hang on for the win.

 

Schork finished with 19 points on seven-of-nine shooting from the field, and sophomore forward Trenese Smith and junior forward Christine Mainguy added 13 points each for Loyola. Mainguy also pulled down 10 rebounds to register the double-double, and she also blocked two shots.

 

Westminster was led by its season scoring leader, junior guard Shannon Evans, who registered 18 points to go with five rebounds, and a game-high six assists. Junior forward Alexis Tucker scored 16 points and notched a game-high 15 rebounds and two blocks. Senior guard Kelsi Olsen and junior guard Elisa Leader scored 11 points apiece for the Griffins, who finish the season with a 24-8 overall record.

 

Loyola, making its third appearance in the past four seasons, picks up its first national tournament victory in program history to improve to 27-6 on the season. The Wolfpack will take on the Point Loma Nazarene/Robert Morris winner on Friday at 12:30 p.m.