Rebounding, Timely Shots Fuel Golden Eagle Upset of Loyola in First Round

NEW ORLEANS -- What was once a 15-point lead in the third quarter was whittled to a one possession game, but the Golden Eagle defense limited the Wolf Pack to 1-of-8 shooting from the field in the final three minutes as the John Brown University women's basketball team upset No. 9 Loyola (La.) by a 68-65 margin in the NAIA National Championships First Round on Tuesday night (March 7) inside the University Sports Complex.

Two key triples from seniors Lisa Vanoverberghe and later with 57 seconds remaining from Tarrah Stephens prevented the fourth-seeded Loyola (27-3) from ever completing its comeback bid, advancing the Golden Eagles (21-9) into the Second Round while ending the Wolf Pack's 43-game winning streak – dating back to 2019 – inside "The Den."

Stephen's triple from the left arc put the Golden Eagles up 67-63, but despite a late LUNO put-back on its third attempt with 19 seconds remaining, there was still a bit of drama left.

John Brown was forced into a turnover off the inbounds after a timeout, giving the hosts possession, 12 seconds and a half court to work with. Despite allowing an extra chance, junior Bella Spindler held her ground in the deep post and forced Loyola's leading scorer, Sandra Cannady, to lob a shot from under the bucket that caught the underside of the rim while Spindler collected the rebound to secure the win.

Stephens then split a pair at the line with less than a second remaining.

Earlier, JBU survived a pair of second-half runs from the Wolf Pack after relegating the Loyola offense to just six field goals (24 percent) in the first half.

Boasting a 12-point lead at the intermission, junior Natalie Smith extended the margin to 15 (the largest lead of the night), 36-21, with a triple on the opening possession of the third quarter, but then the Wolf Pack made its move. Over the next 3:14 of the quarter, Loyola shot 6-of-6 from the floor and rallied on a 15-2 run to pull within two points. John Brown again responded with a run.

Over the final 5:23 of the third quarter, senior Maddie Altman, Smith and freshman Graci Harris poured in triples while Stephens and Spindler added buckets down low to finish the period on a 14-7 rally to rebuild the nine-point lead.

Spindler scored four points in the early fourth, and sophomore Emily Sanders hit a triple to help maintain the nine-point growing chasm between the teams. Then, with 5:24 left in the game, LUNO made its move with a quick 8-0 run, which JBU then thwarted with Vanoverberghe's triple at the right arc as the shot clock expired.

Although opening the contest 1-of-5 from the floor, the Golden Eagles withstood a 7-2 deficit and used a Vanoverberghe old-fashioned three-point play to jump-start a quarter-ending 11-5 run.

Harris gave John Brown multiple heroic lifts off the bench in the first half by shooting 5-of-5 from the floor in the first 20 minutes of play – including five points during JBU's 10-4 run that opened the lopsided second quarter that featured the visitors holding a 20-9 scoring advantage.

Stephens finished with 15 points in spite of being forced to sit the majority of the fourth quarter in foul trouble. The senior shot 6-of-12 from the field, dished out four assists and posted a pair of blocks in the first half that set the defensive tone in a hostile environment.

Vanoverberghe scored four field goals, finishing with 11 points to round out John Brown's double-digit scorers, while Sanders and Smith each produced nine points apiece – nearly giving JBU five with over 10 points.

Neither team shot the long ball well in the first half, combining to score 2-of-19. Then in the second half, John Brown found its stride and sank 7-of-14 (50 percent), while the Wolf Pack hit six of its 12 triples attempted.

Thanks to Spindler (8 points) and Harris, the Golden Eagle bench produced 31 percent of the total points scored.

Loyola entered the contest averaging north of 16 offensive rebounds a game, seventh-most in the nation, but the Golden Eagles held LUNO to four second-chance possessions in the first half and just 12 throughout the contest, leaving the hosts with a below-average 35 percent offensive rebounding efficiency. In fact, the Blue and Gold finished the evening with a 35-31 rebounding advantage, nearly equaling the hosts in second-chance points (13-12).

LUNO shot 53 percent in the second half, but the John Brown defensive effort in the first half kept the hosts to 40 percent (23-of-57), below its season average. JBU, meanwhile, assisted on 21 of its 26 field goals and shot 49 percent (26-of-53) – six points above its season average.

Cannady's 24 points led four Wolf Pack players in double-figure scoring. The hosts were unable to produce a single point off the bench in the first half.

John Brown is now 2-0 all time versus Loyola, with both contests coming in the NAIA National Championships. The Golden Eagles dispatched LUNO in the national quarterfinals in 2014.

JBU will now take on No. 21 Cumberlands (Ky.) in the Second Round after the Patriots, who were forced to play nearly an extra half of basketball, outlasted Midway (Ky.) in triple overtime, 117-108. The teams will square off in the first-ever meeting between the programs on Wednesday night (March 8) at 7:30 p.m. with the New Orleans' bracket spot in Sioux City and the national quarterfinals on the line.

With the win, JBU produces the Round of 64's largest upset, and head coach Jeff Soderquist and the Golden Eagles improve to 5-5 all-time in the national tournament.

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