The Loyola women never trailed UMBC last night, and they never blinked when the Retrievers made up an 11-point deficit to pull even with 13 minutes remaining, as the Greyhounds used a 12-0 run and the steady eye of senior forward Jennifer Mitchell to post a 55-41 win at Reitz Arena.
Loyola (4-3) won for the third straight time, for the fourth time in its past five games and for the eighth straight time over UMBC (2-3).
It was another step in the right direction for coach Candy Cage, who mixed three freshmen with three seniors in an effort to prove that a season in the cellar of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference was an aberration for an accomplished program.
"We've got three seniors, three freshmen, and nobody in the middle," Cage said. "It's fun with young kids, because you never know what you're going to get, but we showed a lot of character down the stretch. We weren't rebounding when they made their run. Once we got our [fast] break going, we were OK."
Loyola jumped to a 22-12 lead with 6:11 left in the first half and enjoyed a 32-21 cushion early in the second.
UMBC ran off 11 straight points, however, as the Retrievers tightened their defense and got some shots to fall. Jessie Brown, the senior guard from Salisbury's James M. Bennett who finished with four three-pointers and 16 points, hit from behind the arc to force the tie, but Loyola promptly reasserted itself.
Shontrese Smith converted a UMBC turnover into a three-point play. Ahead 39-38, the Greyhounds blanked the Retrievers for more than six minutes. Their deciding run featured a pair of three-pointers from Mitchell, who matched her season high with 17 points.
Fellow seniors Smith and Katie Netherton combined for 18 points and 10 rebounds, and freshman center Katie Scherle made all three of her field-goal attempts.
"We were a little anxious, but Coach Cage calmed us down," said Mitchell, who attended Northern of Calvert County, where Cage once coached. "We haven't come back all the way, but each game a different freshman steps up."
Anastasia Goncharova had three three-pointers and 13 points for UMBC.
UMBC-Catalanotto 3-12 1-1 8, J.Brown 6-15 0-0 16, Green 1-1 0-2 2, M.Brown 0-4 0-0 0, Seamon 0-3 0-2 0, Goncharova 5-11 0-0 13, Voss 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 15-46 3-7 41. LOYOLA-Cobb 3-6 0-0 7, Smith 4-14 1-1 9, Dessart-Mger 0-3 3-4 3, Mitchell 7-14 0-0 17, Netherton 4-7 1-3 9, Valderas 1-1 0-0 2, Harrington 0-1 0-0 0, Scherle 3-3 0-2 6, Kelleher 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-50 5-10 55.
Halftime-Loyola, 28-21. 3-point goals-UMBC 8-25 (J.Brown 4-8, Goncharova 3-8, Catalanotto 1-7, M.Brown 0-2); LC 4-13 (Mitchell 3-8, Cobb 1-4, Smith 0-1). Fouled out-none. Rebounds-UMBC 27 (Seamon 7); LC 34 (Nertherton 6). Assists-UMBC 9 (Catalanotto 3); LC 16 (Cobb 7). Total fouls-UMBC 15; LC 12. A-435.