The Loyola women's basketball team discovered last week that they need to work on finding offensive and defensive production without injured senior captain Meghan Wood. The Hounds dropped two games, first to Siena on Friday night at Reitz Arena, and then to Fairfield University in Connecticut on Sunday afternoon.
In both games, they could have used Wood's senior leadership, who may have helped them pull out at least one of the two close games.
On Sunday, the Greyhounds shot just 21 percent in the first half before mounting a furious rally in the second half en route to a 48-41 loss to the Stags.
The first half was one of Loyola's sloppiest as they produced just 18 points off of five made field goals. The loss of Wood has hurt the Hounds in the paint, but her leadership role is an even tougher hole to fill.
"Anybody on this team can step up and hit shots, but it's tough to fill Wood's role on the floor with her leadership," junior Siobhan Prior said. "We really just have to trust each other every time we go out and play. Just keep together; that's how our team is."
Loyola certainly trusted each other in each other in the second half as they played excellent team defense, holding the Stags scoreless for over nine minutes. They cut an almost insurmountable 17-point lead to three. Prior nailed a jump shot to pull Loyola within six with less than three minutes left in the contest.
On the ensuing play, the Hounds employed a full-court press to get back in the game, and freshman Meredith Tolley knocked the ball out of Fairfield's Shireyll Moore's hands.
As the ball came bouncing out of Moore's hands, sophomore Kaitlin Grant picked up the loose ball, dribbled down the court and hit a driving layup while being fouled in the process.
After Grant made the free-throw, Fairfield's lead was just three at 44-41. Loyola got its chance to cut the lead or tie up the score after the Stags missed two shots. However, Fairfield tied up the ball and recovered possession on the jump ball. Needing a big stop to still have a chance in the ballgame, the Hounds were unable to collect a defensive rebound as Fairfield collected three-straight offensive boards before finally putting in a layup that sealed the win for the Stags.
Leading the scoring for Loyola was Prior with 14 points. Prior was the only Greyhound in double-figures as the team had its lowest scoring total since 1997.
"We shot just 25-percent from the field, and we lost by seven," Logan said. "It could've been worse. We got some good looks when it was 44-41, and we had some offensive rebounds, but we just couldn't score. It could've been two (or) three shots either way."
With the two key injuries to seniors Tynisha Davis and Meghan Wood, the Loyola women's basketball team found themselves without two of their best defensive leaders again on the floor in a MAAC game against Siena on Friday night at Reitz Arena.
That may have been their undoing late in the game as Loyola couldn't maintain a 33-31 halftime lead and fell for the third time in the conference, 67-57.
In the early stages of the first half, Loyola used a pair of big stretches to build a 10-point lead on two separate occasions. Sholokohova, who led the Hounds with17 points and 13 rebounds, had a putback to give Loyola a 31-21 advantage with just four minutes remaining in the opening half.
But Siena would not go away, using a 10-point run of their own to even the score at 31 after a deep three by Manzer with 26 seconds left on the game clock.
After a quick timeout by coach Joe Logan, Loyola took the ball down the court and went ahead by two after Tolley's jump shot found the net.
The second half began with the Saints showing intensity and focus on the defensive side by holding Loyola without a point for nearly five minutes.
The Greyhounds fought back with a three from the left side to tie the game at 39. DiClemente added to the run with a 17-foot jump shot at the top of the key to give the Hounds a two-point lead with 10 minutes remaining.
However, Loyola missed Wood's defensive presence, and it showed when Siena's Laura Menty added two more points in a monstrous 28-point outburst.
"When Meghan Wood is not in the game, our post defense is exploited," Logan said. "Menty killed us, and Stec killed us inside. Without Wood, people are just going to keep throwing the ball inside, and we have to do a better job defensively. We have to get better position and just play smarter."
Loyola would continue to fight, but could not regain momentum as Siena continued to hit shots, including a three by Manzer with just two minutes left in the game. The Saints hung on for the victory to win their second game in the MAAC.
Sholokohova earned her fourth double-double on the season, and tied her career best with 13 rebounds. DiClemente and junior Siobhan Prior added 12 and 10 points respectively.
"It was tough to play today missing our senior leadership out on the floor," Logan said. "Vika stepped up big for us today as she is continuing to work on her game, but we also are going to need other people to step up. We are not healthy, and are going to need to use more people."
The Greyhounds will look to improve their shooting as they take on two very talented teams on the road, Iona and Marist, next week.
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