MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Joclyen Wyatt stole the ball and took it the distance, making a layup with 2.6 seconds left to lift Loyola to a 70-68 victory over Faulkner Saturday afternoon. The back-and-forth affair saw the Lady Eagles up 64-56 with 3:49 to play after
Keyarra Scottland knocked down a layup to make it a three-possession game. The score stayed there until the 2:42 mark when Wyatt converted an and-1 opportunity to narrow it to five. A layup from M.G. Lyman and another by Caitlin Travis cut the Lady Eagle advantage to 64-63.
Sarah Wisniowski parlayed a
Dee Guinn dish into a bucket with 1:08 to go to make it a 66-63 lead. Scottland added a free throw with 50 seconds left to push the lead back to two possessions.
Travis buried a three with 38 seconds to go to put the Wolfpack back to within one. Faulkner got a free throw from
Nequoia Adams to go up 68-66. Alissa O'Dell answered on the other end with a layup to even things up at the 21-second mark. Coming out of a timeout, Faulkner called its set and saw Adams dribble into the lane before Wyatt popped the ball loose to create the game-winning opportunity.
Faulkner started slow offensively, falling behind 8-2 in the first five minutes of the game. The Lady Eagles then settled in with an
Ella Jane Connell three followed by a Guinn jumper and a Wisniowski make to go up 9-8. After the teams played to a 15-point draw in the first quarter, the Lady Eagles opened the second with a flourish. Scottland, Guinn and Josie
Edwards combined for a 9-0 run to open the quarter and put Faulkner up 24-15. Loyola later mounted a 10-0 run to take a 28-27 lead with 1:34 to play before halftime. With the clock running down, Guinn drained a three in the closing seconds to head to the locker room up 30-28.
Faulkner got up by as many as six in the third quarter before Loyola countered with its own 6-0 run to tie it again. The Wolfpack got another 6-0 run from Deniya Thornton and O'Dell to go up 49-42 with 1:23 left in the quarter. Connell turned an Adams pass into a three with 44 seconds left in the frame before
Grace Anne Rose knocked down a buzzer-beater from the elbow to cut it to one by the end of the third.
From the 6:39 mark of the fourth to 3:49 remaining, the Lady Eagles went on a 13-2 run to build the lead to 64-56 and set up the closing sequences.
Loyola won the rebounding battle 42-29 and shot 41 percent from the floor. The Wolfpack snagged 15 offensive rebounds to help take a 20-8 advantage in the second-chance points category.
Scottland had 20 points to lead Faulkner. Guinn finished with 15 points and six assists.
Ruthie Smith finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Faulkner (11-11, 5-7 SSAC) returns to action Wednesday when it travels to Tennessee Southern for a 5:30 p.m. tip.
