In a packed gym full of Houston Baptist University fans, Loyola’s Women’s Basketball Team defeated the Huskies, 78-66.

“The referee definitely made some bad calls,” said Cayla Crain, a pre-med freshman from HBU who sported a “Pack Attack” orange and blue t-shirt and traveled six hours to see her best friend, Courtney Wilson, play.

HBU took an early 6-2 lead over Loyola in the first half until psychology pre-med senior forward Kim Rigg scored to tie the ‘Pack.

Loyola maintained the lead throughout most of the half.

Powerhouse Kiely Schork, mass communication senior, made several impressive 3-pointers while Trenese Smith, management sophomore, ducked and dived under Husky forward Megan Morris, to score an unbelievable layup.

In the last minutes of the first half, Schork stole the ball and ran into traffic, but out of nowhere fellow Wolf Catherine Blanchard, management senior, was there for Schork to pass to and score.

The ‘Pack went into halftime with a 37-35 lead.

Rigg and Schork agreed with fellow teammate Christine Mainguy, management senior, that this win was all about teamwork.

“We came together as a team,” Mainguy said. “When we made a mistake, we didn’t let it get us down.”

An HBU fan, Melissa Thompson, agreed about Loyola’s obvious teamwork while she complimented both teams during halftime. “The fact that they’re both really good teams and the competition is really high makes the game so exciting. Both teams deal well with pressure and never give up.”

Guard Laine Woodruff, general studies sophomore, also had some fans in the stands to support her in Saturday’s game. “This is the only (game) I’ve been to, but yeah, it’s exciting and fun,” said Woodruff’s roommate Eliza Schultz, a philosophy sophomore.

In the second half, the ‘Pack were in sync and proved to be able to handle the tall Huskies. HBU’s guard Sharde Little (ironic, huh?) may have been short, but proved to be tough competition as she consistently stole the ball from Loyola players.

When the teams tied at 54-54, Blanchard, the Smiths, Schork, Rigg, and finally, Mainguy collectively scored to give Loyola their biggest point advantage over HBU at 75-62.

From then on, the ‘Pack maintained their lead and beat the Huskies 78-66.

Immediately after the game, the team gathered around Loyola’s spirit band to thank them for coming out to the game.

“They’re absolutely awesome,” head coach Dobee Plaisance said of the band. “They’re doing so much for the atmosphere, energy, and enthusiasm (for our games). We’re really appreciative.”

The band members are just as excited to be there as the fans, “I like watching us win,” said Evan Wilson, music industry studies freshman, adding that “they’ve won every game we’ve played at actually.”

However, not everyone was excited about the Wolfpack win.

“We shot bad and didn’t do things we usually do,” HBU assistant head coach Raven Justice said of her team.

But Loyola coach Plaisance was elated over the ‘Pack’s victory, in which five players (the Smith twins, Schork, Rigg, and Mainguy) scored in double figures.

“We did what it took to defeat a top notch program,” Plaisance said. “We did a nice job on the boards against a taller, more athletic club. That type of effort says a lot about the hard work and character of our women. We also had five players in double figures, and if we can do that night in and night out, which we are capable of, then we will be a hard team to stop.”

Rigg is optimistic about the future of the team. “We want to go beyond what we did last year. We want to break our own records.”

Teammate Trenelle Smith is sticking to coach Plaisance’s philosophy of “focus(ing) on the next game because it’s the most important.”

Briana Prevost can be reached at [email protected].