Los Angeles, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 25, 2000 - The Loyola Marymount women's basketball team dropped its first loss of the season, 68-84, to No. 23 Xavier in the championship game of the 2000 LMU Furama Hotel Thanksgiving Classic Saturday night in Gersten Pavilion. Junior guard Bryn Britton and sophomore forward Kate Murray each recorded a game-high 23 points. Murray posted her first double-double of the year as she also brought in 11 rebounds.
The Lions (2-1 Overall/0-0 WCC) stood strong in the first half and trailed Xavier (3-0 Overall/0-0 Atlantic-10) by just seven points (42-35) going into the break. Britton and Murray led all scorers at the half with 14 and 12 points, respectively. The Musketeers used a perfect 3-for-3 performance beyond the arc to jump ahead in the first period of play; they would go on to sink 6-of-10 in the second half to increase their lead.
Murray led the Lions sinking 11-of-18 from the field, she also picked up three assists and three steals to add to her double-double (23 points, 11 rebounds). Britton headed up LMU's three-point assault as she drained 6-of-14 from beyond the arc, a game-high. Senior guard Taryn Reynolds was the Lions' final double-digit scorer, she collected 10 points, four rebounds, four steals and dished out a team-high six assists. Reynolds and Britton each earned all-tournament honors.
For the Musketeers, who were named the 2000 LMU * Furama Hotel Thanksgiving Classic Champions, guard Reetta Piipari garnered tournament MVP honors, while forward Taru Tuukkanen and guard Nicole Levandusky were selected as all-tournament members.
Rounding out the all-tournament selection was Stony Brook guard, Sherry Jordan. The Seawolves defeated the UC Riverside Highlanders in the consolation game by a 45-34 margin.
Next up for the Lions is the Oakland Tribune Classic hosted by California-Berkeley Dec. 2-3. LMU starts off the tournament with a match-up against Florida International University Saturday, Dec. 2 at 12:30 pm.
-GO LIONS-
