By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG –It was a case of redemption denied for the William Carey University women.
Hoping to avenge their worst defeat so far this season, the Crusaders instead came up short against NAIA 10th ranked Loyola-New Orleans 76-61 in Southern States Athletic Conference basketball Thursday night at Clinton Gymnasium.
The Wolfpack maintained the place atop the SSAC standings at 11-1 (18-1 overall). Carey dropped 13-6 and 7-5.
“I thought there was a lot of energy in the building,” said William Carey head coach Tracy English. “We had a great crowd, and I think our kids were ready to play.
“Basically, you have to be a really good version of yourself against a team like that. I thought we were up for the challenge, but they made a bunch of shots and there were spots in the game where we didn’t.”
Although the outcome wasn’t close at the end, it was a far cry from the 33-point drubbing the Crusaders endured in the earlier meeting at New Orleans on December 1.
“I’ve seen them all year long, against people like us, battle back and battle back, work our tails off really hard, and in about 30 seconds, they can ruin your whole game,” English said. “That’s how good they are.”
With three regulars out of action, including senior point guard McKinley Seal, the Crusaders nevertheless made the Wolfpack work hard for their victory.
Sophomore Mckalea Randall stepped in admirably in only her second start of the season with 13 points in 34 minutes of floor time.
“I just had to be ready to come in and do my job,” said Randall. “We just had to get it done, and I thought I had a good game.”
Both team converted their first two shots of the game, but Loyola’s were both from 3-point range, while the Crusaders’ two shots were layups.
From that beginning, the Wolfpack added another 3-ball while making four of their first five shots from the field in a 13-0 run to build a 13-4 lead.
After a quick time out to settle things down, junior Rebekah Engle stepped forward with a trey to ignite a 7-0 run that got WCU back in the game, and she later hit another 3-pointer as Carey closed the first quarter trailing just 19-17.
“Ka-Ka (Randall) filled some big shoes for us tonight and got the passes where they needed to go for good shots,” said Engle, who led Carey with 18 points. “Coach told us to get focused, because we really weren’t at the start.”
Randall started the second quarter with another triple to put the Crusaders ahead for the first time, and it was the start of a hotly contested 10 minutes that saw the lead change hands six times, with four ties.
Junior Lauren Rowley, Carey’s leading scorer with 15.6 points per game, scored six of her 13 points in the second period, and Randall added two more field goals before the end of the half, as the Crusaders seemed to solve Loyola’s full-court press.
“Sometimes we make mistakes, but tonight I thought we were pretty good in breaking their press,” said Randall.
However, the last minute of the half was where the game got away from the Crusaders.
The Crusaders seemed to have things going their way, leading 30-26 after Randall swished a pair of free throws with 2:37 to play in the period. But the Wolfpack closed the half with a 10-2 run to seize momentum.
“We just ran our set, try to feed people the ball who can shoot in good position,” said Randall. “I thought we did a good job in the first half.”
Loyola senior Kennedy Hansberry hit a pair of 3-pointers, sandwiched around a Carey turnover, to put the Wolfpack ahead, for what turned out to be the last time.
Carey tied it up one last time, but Loyola got a pair of layup, the second after another turnover, with 17 seconds left to take a 36-32 lead into halftime.
“Momentum turned real quick right there,” said English. “We’ve got a four-point lead, with the ball, and we don’t get anything out of it, then they come down and hit a 3. Then we messed up gains, and, bam, that’s the way they do it.”
It got worse when play resumed in the third quarter. Loyola senior Taylor Thomas capped a 9-0 run to start the second half with a 3-point shot, then added a fast-break layup off a steal to put the Wolfpack up 43-32.
While Loyola was scorching the nets, the Crusaders missed their first six shots from the field in the second half, including four from inside five feet of the basket.
“(Loyola) came out really hot and it was really hard for Ka-Ka to get us the ball,” said Engle. “Once we got over that hump, I thought we did pretty well until the end.”
Once again, Carey managed to get back on track. Randall nailed a trey from the left key, then Engle and Rowell had fast-break layups in a 6-0 run that got the Crusaders close.
Carey finished the third quarter outscoring Loyola 14-7 over the final six minutes of the period, and trailed 50-46 heading into the fourth quarter.
But that’s when Loyola raised its game and this time the Crusaders were unable to respond.
The Wolfpack were 4 for 4 from 3-point range in the final period, pulling away with a 14-2 run to grab their biggest lead of the night, 67-51 with 5:12 to play.
For the game, Loyola was 10 of 19 from beyond the arc. The Wolfpack also had a significant 40-27 edge in rebounding, and they were especially productive on the defensive end, with 29 defensive boards, while Carey had just five on the offensive glass.
“That’s what happens with them,” English said. “What you have to do, and what happened to us. When we don’t make shots, we’re not rebounding and trying to get second and third looks, and I think it’s fatigue at times.
“Part of the game plan was we’ve seen them a few times and they don’t do a good job on the defensive boards. If you want to rebound, you can some offensive boards and we just didn’t.”
Rowell and Engle each hit 3-balls to trim the deficit, but it was too little too late for Carey. Engle finished with 18 points to lead Carey.
Hansberry led all scorers with 24 points and Thomas added 16 for Loyola.
“Solid defense, for sure,” said Engle when asked what Carey needed to do to beat Loyola. “We’ve got to be on our best shooting game, and defense has to be our No. 1 priority.”
Carey will be back in action on Saturday, as the Crusaders travel to Blue Mountain.
