Loyola’s Maeve Stanton admitted it can be tough winning at Mother McAuley, so the 5-foot-8 junior guard did her best to get the Ramblers out to a hot start.
Stanton finished with a team-high 14 points on four 3-pointers and Loyola held off a second-half rally from McAuley for a 49-45 GCAC Red semifinal victory on Thursday.
“I’ve been kind of off lately — especially in the last game — so coming in and scoring eight points in the first quarter really set me off on the right path,” Stanton said.
Liz Satter added 13 points and 11 rebounds and Sarah Elston had eight points, four blocks and four assists for Loyola (16-10), which led McAuley by as much as 16 in the second quarter.
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“We started off really strong and with a lot of energy,” Stanton said. “At half, we wanted to continue that, but the third quarter we kind of had a lapse.”
McAuley sisters Molly and Tara O’Malley played their part in the comeback. Molly O’Malley scored nine of her game-high 19 points in the third and Tara O’Malley dished four of her five assists as the Mighty Macs (11-14) cut Loyola’s lead 39-38 heading into the fourth quarter.
McAuley would twice get within two points in the fourth, but Loyola’s Tyra Mills went 4-for-5 from the free-throw line to ice the game.
“We’ve been up 13 to 15 points at the half and had the game flipped on us, so we know it’s possible,” McAuley coach Ashley Canton said. “We did a nice job of creeping in. Loyola’s always solid and plays hard, but we were proud of our kids for making the comeback.”
Elston looked sharp facilitating the ball out of the high post for Loyola, but she picked up her fourth foul late in the third and her fifth midway through the fourth. Mary Cormier entered off the bench and came up big with four points, six rebounds and two blocks.
“When Sarah was out for about three-and-a-half weeks, Mary started for us,” Loyola coach Jeremy Schoenecker said. “She’s just very active. It’s nice to see a junior stepping into her own a little bit.”
The win sends Loyola to the GCAC Red championship against Trinity and conference Player of the Year Annie McKenna. The game is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday at McAuley.
Erin Drynan added nine points and seven rebounds for the Mighty Macs.