Loyola’s women basketball team is off to a 6-2 start as the young team looks to define itself.

The first few games of the season are often the time for teams to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses before conference play starts later in the season. This is the case for the Wolfpack as well. Head coach Kellie Kennedy said that even though they were victorious in their first two contests there is still room for improvement.

In the last game against Our Lady of the Lake, Kennedy said that her team may have been paying too close attention to the scoreboard. “I think we were playing to score more than the team,” Kennedy said.

“Developing a mentality where we are not trying to go out and bury people and just win games is something we are trying to do.” Kennedy was also concerned with aspects of the team’s offense. While she was overall pleased with the team’s ability to move the ball around, she though the team’s shooting had room for improvement.

The ‘Pack shot 43.9 percent from the field against Dillard but shot only 24.4 percent. “We’ve got to hit more shots,” Kennedy said. “But it’s so early, those things are going to come.”

One of the players whose offense will be relied on this season is biological science senior and Wolfpack forward Rachael Nolan. “She has really stepped up and done some scoring for us,” Kennedy said. Forward and psychology junior Amy Sprout said that it was not just Nolan’s scoring ability that helped her earn the team’s respect. “

She has the most experience and she’s been a part of winning teams so she would be who we look up to the most,” Sprout said. Nolan was the leading scorer in the ‘Pack’s first two games scoring 13 against Dillard University and 18 against Our Lady of the Lake.

Though the team is young and looking for an identity other coaches see the Wolfpack as a threat in the SSAC West. “The coaches picked us to win the West Division,” Kennedy said. She also said that at the end of the season it’s the win-loss record that defines a team. “It says a lot for the respect people have for our program but its just what people think, it matters what we do.”

One of the things that makes this team a favorite to win the SSAC West is the team’s chemistry. “They are buying into what we want to do and they also care a lot about each other,” Sprout said. “Our chemistry is improving the more we play together so we’re starting to click more,” Sprout said.

Hasani Grayson can be reached at [email protected]