Marshall highlights weekend as Greyhounds split pair of games on Buffalo road trip

The Loyola women's basketball team traveled to Western New York this weekend to take on the Canisius Golden Griffins and the Niagara Purple Eagles.

The Greyhounds fell to the Golden Griffins (9-11 overall, 3-6 MAAC) Friday night in Buffalo, losing 65-55, despite several record-breaking performances by the Hounds.

Kara Marshall, a Loyola freshman, scored 21 points, a career-high for her. This marks her fifth-straight game with points in the double figures and her first 20-point game.

The Hounds recorded 17 steals, a single-game record for the team, with Alyssa Sutherland getting six, a career-high for her as well. Sutherland also notched seven points and five rebounds.

Katie Sheahin had six steals against the Golden Griffins, moving her to second place on Loyola's all-time career steals chart, just four behind leader Shannon Cohen, who stands with a record of 240. Friday was Sheahin's 15th multi-steal game.

The Greyhounds stormed out to a big lead in the first half, hitting five three-pointers in a row to give them a 13-4 advantage at the 14:31 mark. However, this would prove to be Loyola's largest lead of the game.

The Golden Griffins closed the first half with 10 straight points. Ashley Durham's layup with 2:21 to go gave Canisius a 25-24 lead, their first since the 19-minute mark and one they would not lose again.

The Greyhounds went into an offensive slump, going eight minutes without scoring. Meanwhile, Canisius sunk six of their first eight shots in the second half, giving them an 11-point lead.

Though the Griffins led by as much as 19, the Greyhounds managed to close the gap to 10, the final score reading 65-55 in favor of Canisius.

On Sunday afternoon, the Greyhounds defeated the Niagara Purple Eagles at the Gallagher Center in Niagara, N.Y, making it a .500 weekend for the Hounds.

The 68-48 victory lifted the Hounds to 8-13 overall and 4-6 in MAAC, while Niagara fell to 7-15 overall and 4-6 in MAAC.

Marshall notched her second 20-point performance of the weekend, breaking her career-high from Friday night by scoring 22 points. Three other Hounds recorded points in the double digits: Sutherland had 18, Sheahin had 11, and Miriam McKenzie had 10.

The Hounds hit five of their first six shots of the game, to take a big 12-2 lead at the start of the game, with Marshall scoring the first seven points.

With 6:37 left in the first, the Hounds were up 24-11, their biggest lead of the half, after Marshall, Sheahin, and Sutherland contributed to a 7-0 scoring spree.