PULASKI, Tenn. – The Martin Methodist Women's Basketball team suffered a 74-61 defeat to No. 25 Loyola (La.) Saturday afternoon in the Curry Christian Life Center.

The loss marked the final regular-season contest for the RedHawks (19-11, 13-7 SSAC), who finished the year with an 11-4 mark at home.

The RedHawks started out hot as they built a 19-11 lead after the first period of play. Loyola would respond, however, and score 27 points in the second quarter and build a 38-33 lead at halftime. The third quarter saw Loyola push the lead even further and the visitors eventually pulled away in the fourth quarter for the 13-point victory.

Brooklyn Blanchard led the RedHawks with 15 points, while teammate Keely Ellison added 11.

Kaila Anthony led the Wolf Pack (23-10, 17-3 SSAC) with a game-high 20 points.

Despite the loss, however, the RedHawks still finished third in the SSAC standings and earned the No. 3 seed in the 2019 SSAC Women's Basketball Championship, which begins Wednesday morning in Montgomery, Alabama.

The RedHawks will meet No. 6 seed Stillman (Ala.) in its opener on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 9 a.m. The RedHawks split the two regular-season meetings with the Tigers (15-13, 10-10 SSAC) and will square off for the first time this season on a neutral court.

In addition to the tournament itself, the RedHawks will also attend Wednesday night's SSAC Women's Basketball Awards Banquet, held on the campus of Faulkner University.

The full bracket for this week's SSAC Women's Basketball Championship can be found HERE.