The Loyola women?s basketball team?s up-and-down season took another dip Saturday afternoon, as the Greyhounds couldn?t keep up with Manhattan, and fell, 68-59, in front of 456 fans at Reitz Arena.
The Greyhounds won five straight during December, but have lost three times in the past nine days, including losses to Towson and Bucknell. Prior to the team?s five game winning streak, the team dropped three straight from Nov. 14 to Nov. 25.
Loyola (7-6, 2-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) outrebounded Manhattan, 39-25, but struggled from the floor, making just 41.7 percent of its shots, including a meager 36.7 percent in the second half.
“With these conference games, you have to win at home,” Loyola coach Joe Logan said. “But we will get back on track. We are 1-2 [in conference], it?s not like we are 1-20.”
Manhattan (8-6, 3-0) jumped out to a 9-2 lead just three minutes into the game when Jaspers forward Caitlin Flood connected on a driving layup. But the Greyhounds would respond with a 13-5 run to end the half and take a 29-25 lead into intermission. Loyola guard Tynisha Davis had six of her career-high 17 points in the first half to help the Greyhounds take the lead.
“We had some open looks and some good looks, but we weren?t knocking them down,” Davis said. “We need to stick together and that?s what we always need to remember.”
Loyola scored the first basket of the second half, but back to back three-pointers by Manhattan guard Gabrielle Cottrell tied the game at 31-31 with 18:20 remaining. The teams traded baskets over the next 11 minutes before the Jaspers went on a 15-4 run, capped by a Cottrell three-point play with 7:26 remaining, to take a 53-42 lead.
Loyola cut the lead to just 55-48 with 5:08 left on a pair of Kaitlin Grant free throws, but three-pointers by Flood and Cottrell pushed the lead out of reach at 61-50 just over a minute later.
Flood finished with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and chipped in seven rebounds.
The Greyhounds entered the game struggling from long range, connecting on just 23.7 percent of their three-pointers, and struggled for much of the game from beyond the arc, making just 3-of-16 attempts.
Senior Meghan Wood added 10 points and 11 rebounds for Loyola, as the forward recorded her third double-double of the year.
“We?ve lost three in a row before and it stinks losing,” Wood said. “But it?s a good thing we have five days to prepare to play [Marist on Friday night], the best team in the league.”
