NEW ORLEANS, La. - Another classic chapter in the Faulkner-Loyola rivalry lived up to the billing, as a back-and-forth contest resulted in the teams needing overtime to decide the contest at The Den on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, a foul call on Faulkner (10-5, 4-3 SSAC) with less than a second remaining on a drive by Loyola (11-2, 4-1 SSAC) was the difference in a crushing 78-76 loss. 

The Lady Eagles were slow to get off the deck, trailing by 12 with eight minutes left until halftime but used an 8-0 run to get within four with a triple and a jumper by Avery Rogers and a trey from Keyarra Scottland. Loyola scored the next four before a jumper and a three from Ruthie Smith got Faulkner within three, which would remain the margin through halftime. The scoring continued to go back and forth, as the Wolf Pack surged the lead to 50-40 with four minutes left in the third quarter before the Lady Eagles got back within four heading into the fourth thanks to threes by Ella Jane Connell and Scottland.  

After a four-point run by Ruthie Smith off a pair of buckets on consecutive trips, the second of which began with her steal, the advantage grew to 10 once more as Deniya Thornton of Loyola contributed the next five points in a personal 12-0 run for her. Scottland and Morgan Holland DeWitt scored jumpers of their own before SeQuoia Carroll missed a layup and was called for a technical foul. Connell cashed in with four points on the two uncontested free throws and a drive and score in the paint on the ensuing possession to conclude an 8-0 Faulkner run that got her team within 63-61 with 3:58 on the clock.  

Thornton answered with a triple on the next Loyola possession and Chandler Caver scored on two free throws to grow the lead to 68-61 at 2:26. From there, Smith took over, coming up with the last seven points of regulation. She scored a layup off a Sydney Steward assist before adding another on the next trip, in which she got the rebound off her own miss and laid it in while absorbing the contact and falling to the floor, resulting in a three-point play. Connell then secured the board off the next Loyola shot. She missed a three, but Smith cleaned up on the glass again and tied it up with her third layup on as many trips for a personal 7-0 run. A buzzer-beating attempt by Loyola's Tiarra McPipe was too far. 

After a pair of Thornton free throws opened the OT scoring, DeWitt drained a three to give her team its first lead of the day. The teams traded buckets and free throws before Carroll hit a three to put Loyola up 76-74 with 1:43 left. Connell then tied it back on the next trip down. With 20 seconds left, the Wolf Pack used a timeout to set up a final play. Smith's block of Caitlin Travis's layup drew a whistle as the clock wound down; the latter made both foul shots, and Smith's buzzer-beating bank shot came up short as time expired.  

All five starters for Loyola scored in double figures as Faulkner dominated bench points 20-3. Thornton led all players who logged over 20 minutes in shooting percentage as she racked up 28 points and 10 rebounds. Caver and Travis scored 13, with Caver adding eight assists. Carroll put up 11 points and nine boards and Alissa O'Dell 10 points and seven boards. The starters combined for seven steals. The true difference came on the glass, as the Wolf Pack took total rebounds 45-40 and on offense 19-13 as they in turn claimed points in the paint 22-13. A 90.9% to 60% advantage in free throw percentage also proved crucial. 

The Lady Eagles outshot the hosts from the field 43.3% to 35.2% and 31% to 27.6% from three. Smith also led her team with a double-double, registering 22 points and 12 boards as well as three assists and two blocks. Scottland and Connell each put up 13 points, with Connell adding five boards and three assists off the bench. DeWitt had 12 points and six rebounds before fouling out in overtime. Steward dished out a team-leading eight assists as well as four points and four boards. Rogers contributed five points and Brett Douglas four.  

Faulkner returns home to take on Brewton-Parker Christian on Thursday at 5:30 pm.