After a tough and long fought 40 minute battle, the Seattle University women's basketball team was edged 74-68 by Loyola Marymount Wednesday evening in Los Angeles, Calif. Despite having an early lead, the Redhawks could not comeback from a second half deficit and earn their first road win on the season. With the loss, SU closes out the first half of the season 3-14.
The first half turned to be a seesaw battle for the lead. SeattleU took off on an early 7-0 run behind five points from sophomore Maggie McCarthy (Burlingame, Calif.) and a game-opening jumper from Tatiana Heck (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.). Things looked to be in sync early for SU, as their defense was effectively breaking down the LMU offense and the Lions were held to 3-for-12 from the field just over five minutes into the game.
"I am very proud of our team," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "We showed a great deal of pride and courage coming off our game yesterday. We played very good defense, as we held their two best players Alex Cowling and Renahy Young to only two points in the first half."
Midway through the first half, Loyola Marymount began to turn things around and chipped away at the Redhawks slowly disappearing lead. After being down the entire game, Jenna Sybesma gave the Lions their first lead of the game at 4:52 with a jumper. The home team began to rally back and headed into halftime with a 31-27 lead, with 12 points coming off of offensive rebounds and 19 from their bench, despite their top offensive threats Cowling and Young were eliminated threats in the first 20.
For the Redhawks in the first half, Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.) led the offense with nine points, and McCarthy added eight points and tallied five boards. In light of SU letting their early lead evaporate, they were playing smart basketball. Ashley Brown (Kirkland, Wash.) and Heck had four rebounds apiece, and the team was staying focused and not getting frustrated as LMU took a short first period lead.
In the second half, the Lions came out sporting a new offensive rhythm. With13:26 left in the game LMU had a 15 point lead, their highest point advantage in the game. After relinquishing a double-digit lead, SeattleU's offense was triggered and they slowly broke down Loyola Marymount's lead to one point with 5:15 remaining in the contest. McCarthy received a clear pass from Cassidy Murillo (Yakima, Wash.) behind the arc to drain in a three. The seesaw battle was reignited, as Loyola Marymount's Sybesma responded with a jumper to give the Lions a three point advantage. Less than two minutes later Kerfoot drained in a three of her own to tie the game at 63-all.
The lead then transferred back-and-fourth for the next minute, but it was LMU who broke a near two minute scoring drought to take a four point lead off a 3-pointer from Candice Nichols. McCarthy made a lane jumper to bring the game to a possession with 25 seconds remaining.
With less than 20 ticks left on the clock, LMU's Young grabbed the ball on the Lions following two possessions. She was fouled both times and converted her free throws to take Loyola Marymount's lead to six points and solidify their victory.
On the day, four Redhawks scored in double-digits for the first time this season. Kerfoot led both squads with 20 points; she also added three defensive boards and an assist. McCarthy followed with 19 points and a team-leading eight boards.
Brown and Heck rounded out SU's double-digit scorers, with 10 and 11 points, respectively. Brown had five defensive rebounds and Heck had a second-best seven boards.
"I told the team that they can be disappointed with the loss, but I am proud of their effort," Bonvicini said. "We are looking forward to going home and protecting our court."
The Redhawks look to earn their fourth win of the year on Sunday, Jan. 3, versus the University of Portland. SU comes home after a four game road swing to host the Pilots in a 2 p.m. game in the Connolly Center.