NEW ORLEANS, La. – Blue Mountain Christian Women gave No. 16 Loyola a serious scare here Thursday night in SSAC play, dropping a close contest 72-67.
After leading for more than half the game, the Lady Toppers couldn't get the upper hand against the No. 1 team in the SSAC.
The Lady Toppers came out on fire, as Charnita Brooks drained back-to-back threes and later got a steal that led to a layup from Crystin Guy, giving BMCU a 13-6 lead.
Blue Mountain continued to race out quickly in the first, as Brooks hit her third three of the quarter at 2:55, and the Toppers took a 24-18 lead.
Two free-throws from Guy right before the half would give the Lady Toppers a 41-33 lead at the break.  Brooks and Guy would both have 11 points at halftime.
Loyola would flip the script in the second half, coming from behind to grab its first lead at 42-41 from Sandra Cannady at 7:28 in the third quarter.
Brooks struck again though, draining another three at 5:38 in the third to give the Toppers a 47-46 lead.
By the end of the third, Loyola had jumped back up 59-54 heading to the fourth.
The game was tied again at the 3:10 mark of the fourth when Rebecca Walter scored for the Toppers.  After Loyola took another one-point lead, Isabella Carlson drained a three to give Blue Mountain the lead again at 65-64.
Cannady would put Loyola up again with two free-throws, and later Taylor Thomas would hit two from the charity stripe, allowing the Lady Wolfpack to escape the upset.
Guy would lead the Toppers with 22 points, followed by Brooks with 19.  Guy would also lead the team with six rebounds.
Blue Mountain was better than the Wolfpack in just about every statistic except the final score, as the Lady Toppers would shoot 40 percent from the floor to Loyola's 35 percent.
BMCU's (7-17, 4-12 SSAC) postseason hopes remain alive with just two conference games left on the schedule.  The Lady Toppers return to SSAC play Saturday against William Carey in Hattiesburg, Miss. with tip set for 12 p.m. CT.
 
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