Weekend homestand a success for Hounds

The Loyola women's basketball team played shutdown defense and newcomer Vika Sholokhova put up 16 points en route to a 61-45 victory over Manhattan on Sunday. With their fourth win in a row, the Hounds improved to 11-7 (6-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). Over the break, the Hounds took down Manhattan and Siena on the road and returned home last week, throttling Niagara and Manhattan.

On Sunday, senior Jill Glessner, freshman Kaitlin Grant, and junior Mehan Wood set the tone early, leading the team in scoring. The Jaspers responded with a three-pointer from sophomore Annie McIntryle at the top of the key, but the Greyhounds would go on to set the tempo for most of the first half. The Hounds controlled the boards early, using them to get out in transistion and convert on several quick scores.

Seniors Brittany Dunn and Ebony Toliver were stalwarts on the defensive end, and on offense, Dunn set the attack with six assists while Toliver added four more. Wood and Sholokhova, who scored 16 points apiece, cleaned up on the glass. Wood went for a double-double, adding 11 rebounds to her 16-point performance.

Since gaining her eligibility, Sholokhova has added another dimension to a Greyhoud squad already exceeding expectations. Her outside scoring, passing, and great post play has already had an impact and will help come tournament time.

"Vika is very important to our team because she makes things happen," head coach Joe Logan said. "She is very hard to guard because she can shoot, pass, and play down low."

Leading by seven, the Greyhounds took all of the momentum into halftime as Dunn nailed a jumper at the buzzer to increase the lead to 10, 35-25.

In the second half, the Jaspers tried to deflate Loyola's momentum with another three from McIntryle, which cut the lead to 35-28. But Glessner took over the game, answering with a floater in the lane.

Wood and Grant continued to contribute offensively, and Loyola never let Manhattan back into the game.

During one four minute period, the Hounds went on a 9-0 run to increase the lead to 46-30, and the rest of the game saw fast-paced scoring from Loyola and good pressure defensively.

"Our seniors continue to give us great leadership both on and off the court," Logan said. "They are highly mo-tivated."

On Friday, Loyola played host to Niagara and came away with one of the most complete offensive efforts in Loyola wo-men's basketball history.

The Hounds scored 91 points by forcing turnovers, out-rebounding the Purple Eagles 42-16, and making 61 percent of their shot attempts.

Right away the Greyhounds caught fire, making shot after shot while pulling down seemingly every offensive rebound if they happened to miss. Loyola ended the first half on a 17-6 run in the final three minutes to give the Hounds a 45-26 lead.

If the huge lead wasn't enough, Glessner made the Purple Eagle's deficit even greater, converting a three-point play at the buzzer for 18 first half points.

With the game pretty much sealed, the starters were rested and many of the bench players saw valuable court time. Freshman Erica DiClemente took advantage of the playing time, scoring 11 points and grabbing six rebounds. Grant also played an excellent offensive game off the bench, putting up eight second half points.

According to Logan, the Hounds played brilliantly in every facet to collect their 10th victory of the year.

"Everything was clicking for us on Friday," Logan said. "The 91 points came from great defense and we shoot very well from the field. It was great to see the success of the game because our players have worked extremely hard over the past month."

Glessner led the team in scoring with 18 points and five assists. Wood and Dunn both added 16 while Grant had 10 points and nine rebounds.

The team will look to add to their four-game winning streak when they take on Iona at Reitz Arena on Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.