Box Score BALTIMORE, Md. – The Loyola Greyhounds rallied back to defeat Saint Peter's 59-49 in a non-conference women's basketball contest on Saturday evening.
Rebecca Sparks (Teaneck, N.J. / Teaneck [Saint Francis]) paced the Peacocks (0-8) with a season-high 12 points. Talah Hughes (Beacon, N.Y. / Beacon) scored a career-high nine points while Sajanna Bethea (Levittown, Pa. / Pennsbury) scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Bri Betz-White fueled the Greyhounds (2-7) with 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Jeneh Perry recorded 15 points while Colleen Marshall and Steph Smith scored seven points apiece.
Loyola used a second half run over that spanned over 10 minutes to rally back and defeat Saint Peter's in head coach Pat Coyle's return to Reitz Arena.
Saint Peter's opened up the game with a 7-0 run, fueled by five points from Sparks. The Greyhounds got on the board at the 14:49 mark with a free throw from Lisa Mirarchi. Following the basket, Antonia Smith (Bronx, N.Y. / Dwight School) answers with a layup off an assist from Sparks to take a 9-1 lead.
Following a 3-pointer form Carly Monzo, the Peacocks responded with a basket from Hughes at the 10:32 mark to extend the lead. The Greyhounds countered with a field goal from Perry to trim the deficit.
Saint Peter's took a 15-6 lead, following back-to-back buckets from Sparks and Smith. Loyola made a run, scoring seven unanswered points, capped off by a layup from Betz-White at 5:37 to trail 15-13.
The Peacocks extended their lead with five straight points to stay ahead, 20-13. Following a basket from Marshall at 4:13, Saint Peter's countered with consecutive baskets to take a 24-15 advantage.
Loyola cut into the deficit with a 6-0 run, capped off by a layup from Lauren Daugherty to trail 24-21 with just over a minute left in the half. Following a free throw from Hughes, the Greyhounds scored a layup with eight seconds left, to trail 26-23 heading into the locker room.
The Peacocks opened up the second half with an 8-2 run, fueled by four points from Bethea, to take hold a 37-25 lead with 16:29 remaining on the clock. Following a media timeout, Loyola trimmed the margin with a traditional 3-point play from Marshall. Saint Peter's answered with a 3-pointer from Bridget Whitfield (San Diego, Calif. / La Costa Canyon) to take a 40-28 advantage. Both teams exchanged baskets, with Saint Peter's ahead 42-30 with 12:32 left on the clock.
Loyola rallied back, going on a 23-0 run over that spanned over 10 minutes to give the Greyhounds a 53-42 lead. Saint Peter's stopped the drought with a converted 3-point play by Hughes at the 1:37 mark. The Peacocks got within six in the final minute, but free throws down the stretch gave Loyola the 59-49 victory.
Smith recorded six points and six rebounds while Whitfield finished with five points and eight rebounds. Hala Mostafa (Cairo, Egypt / Modern Narmer Language School) tallied a game-high two blocks.
Saint Peter's returns to action tomorrow, when the team concludes its Maryland road trip with a non-conference contest against Navy. Opening tip is set for 2 p.m.
