BALTIMORE – UMBC women's basketball's Taylor McCarley knocked down eight of her 10 free throw attempts en route to moving into fourth all-time at UMBC in free throws made (296). McCarley finished with a game-high 18 points to help the Retrievers hold off Loyola, 52-46, in non-conference action at Reitz Arena on Sunday afternoon.

UMBC used a quick 5-0 run in the fourth quarter behind a trey from McCarley and a long jumper from Pandora Wilson (Gaithersburg, Md./Academy of Holy Cross) to escape a 37-37 tie and get the distance it needed to finish the game at the free throw line, hitting 10-of-14 shots at the charity stripe in the final 2:14 to hang on for the victory.

McCarley added five rebounds and three assists to her afternoon, while junior forward Pandora Wilson added 13 points and seven rebounds and senior guard Capree Garner (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) chipped in 10 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks in the win.

The Retrievers pick up their sixth straight victory and their eighth win in the last nine games to improve to 8-3 on the season, while Loyola falls to 3-7 overall.

The Retrievers were able to turn the Greyhounds over eight times in the opening 10 minutes of play, but UMBC shot 33.3 percent in the opening quarter to take a one-point lead over Loyola, 13-12. UMBC used a 10-4 run at the start of the second quarter behind the efforts of Garner and Pandora Wilson to take a seven-point lead, 23-16, with 3:59 to go. The Retrievers were held without a bucket the remainder of the half, allowing Loyola to close the gap to two points, 23-21, at the break.

UMBC forced the Greyhounds into 12 turnovers in the opening half, but were able to convert them into just six points. The Retrievers finished the half shooting 31 percent from the floor, compared to 34.6 percent for Loyola.

The Retrievers' scoring drought ended 2:58 into the third quarter on a short jumper from Pandora Wilson and was followed by a trey from junior guard Taylor McCarley (Bowie, Md./Academy of Holy Cross) to put UMBC on top, 28-23. Loyola started the quarter 1-for-8, but knocked down its next two shots to take back the lead, 31-30, for the first time since the two-minute mark of the first quarter.

UMBC ended the third quarter on a 7-1 run to take a 37-32 lead, but Loyola scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to knot the game at 37 with 7:33 to play. McCarley struck for her second trey of the day with 5:27 to go and Pandora Wilson followed with a jumper to put UMBC out in front. The Greyhounds responded with a three from Bri Betz-White, but the Retrievers took advantage of being in the bonus by knocking down 10 of their next 14 attempts at the charity stripe to help close out the contest. Loyola hit a pair of threes in the final minute of play to keep things close, but the Retrievers hung on for the victory.

The Retrievers shot 42.1 percent from the floor in the second half, while the Greyhounds hit 28.6 percent. UMBC once again won the turnover battle, forcing 17 turnovers and committing 14. Loyola was led by 12 points and seven rebounds from Steph Smith, while Jeneh Perry added nine points and a game-high 18 rebounds.  

On the Horizon for the Retrievers

-UMBC returns to action for a two-game swing at the Saint Joseph's Tournament, starting with a matchup against the host Hawks at 1 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 28.  

Game Notes

-UMBC's eight non-conference wins are the most in a season since 2008-09.