NEW ORLEANS - Loyola took advantage of ice-cold Faulkner shooting and also outscored the Lady Eagles off the bench by 33 points, resulting in a 76-61 victory Saturday afternoon in the Southern States Athletic Conference opener for both teams at the Sports Complex.

The 13th-ranked Wolf Pack (3-2, overall, 1-0 SSAC) broke open a close game in the second quarter and were never seriously threatened in the third and fourth en route to the win. Loyola held Faulkner to 26 percent shooting from the field and its bench scored 43 points to the Lady Eagles' 10.

"Their guards just shoved it down our throats, and we've got to learn to 'pony up' and keep that from happening," said Faulkner head coach Reed Sutton, whose team fell to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the league. "Right now, we're soft. I thought we did fairly well against their bigs, but we were not good defensively at all against their guards. And as for the shooting, that's just been us. We haven't shot it well all year, yet we keep jacking them up. 

"I'm really disappointed in the lack of competitiveness we showed out there today. It frustrates me. When I'm the most competitive person out there for us, that's not a good thing."

A 13-point halftime lead quickly grew in the third quarter, with a Megan Worry 3-pointer giving Loyola it's biggest lead of the game at 55-31 with 2:40 left in the third quarter. Faulkner got to within 13 late in the game, but no closer.

The Lady Eagles did place four players in double figures, with Erichea Barnes' 13 leading the way. China Leary and Olivia Adamson added 11, while Faith LeGate chipped in 10. Kyla Jones paced Loyola with 17 points, with Worry next with 14 and Adrianne Sloboh with 12.

Loyola outrebounded Faulkner 49-40, with the Lady Eagles forced 18 turnovers while committing just 16.

In the early going the Lady Eagles scored 11 straight points to turn a four-point deficit into a seven-point advantage before the Wolf Pack took over. A 20-1 stretch put Loyola on top 26-14 midway through the second quarter. Faulkner trimmed to margin to five points behind Barnes and Leary, but the Wolf Pack pulled away late in the half, with Zoie Miller's 3-pointer resulting in a 37-24 lead at the break.

In the first two quarters, the Loyola bench outscored Faulkner's 18-0. Barnes ended the half with 10 points, while Leary added six.

Faulkner travels to Mobile Monday to take on the Lady Rams. The game tips off at 5:30 p.m.