Lady Pilots Fall Short in Upset Bid Over No. 14 Loyola
February 09, 2008
Shreveport, La. - The LSUS Lady Pilots nearly pulled off a huge upset on Saturday, taking the No. 14 team in the nation down to the wire before losing by a single point, 62-61.
LSUS scored the first seven points of the contest, while the Wolfpack didn't make their first field goal until the 13:53 mark in the first half.
The Lady Pilots led by eight points, the largest lead for either team in the game, at the 12:04 mark after a made basket by Edie Leonards; however the Wolfpack responded with an 11-0 run over a five minute stretch to take a three point lead.
Both teams battled back-and-forth for the remainder of the half, until Loyola's Trenese Smith hit back-to-back baskets to end the half and give the Wolfpack a 27-24 lead heading into the break.
The Lady Pilots wouldn't take back the lead until the 15:34 mark in the second half, when Teokea Wilkerson nailed a three pointer to put the Lady Pilots up by two.
Neither team would lead by more than two points for the next 15 minutes, as both teams battled hard for the victory.
The Lady Pilots took a two-point lead at the four minute mark on a field goal by Kacie Cryer, but Loyola's Christine Mainguy drilled a three pointer on the very next possession to grab the lead back for the Wolfpack.
With the Wolfpack up one and 48 seconds left to play, Trenell Smith buried a three-point basket from the baseline as the shot clock expired, giving Loyola a four-point lead.
Cryer cut the Wolfpack lead back to one with a three pointer of her own just seven seconds later.
LSUS chose to not foul and play for a stop on Loyola's final possession, but the Wolfpack pulled down a huge offensive rebound with four seconds remaining on the clock, and the Lady Pilots were unable to foul as time expired.
Leonards led the Lady Pilots with 19 points, while Janai Sells and Wilkerson each finished in double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively.
The Smith sisters combined for 39 points in the win for Loyola, as Trenell scored a game-high 20 points and Trenese added 19. Mainguy ended the night with a double-double, recording 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The Lady Pilots (10-11, 6-6) will be back in action on Thursday night versus Xavier University of New Orleans.
