Box Score
In Short…
Loyola University Chicago battled its way through a tough night on the offensive end, ultimately picking up a 56-43 victory over SIUE (3-3) this evening inside Gentile Arena. The win, Loyola's fourth straight, moves the Ramblers to 6-2 on the year, matching the best start to a season through eight games since 2001-02.
Kate Achter's Thoughts…
"This is the best start in a long time for our program and we're doing it with a lot of really young kids that just found a way to grit it out tonight. It wasn't pretty but, at the end of the day, they found a way to win and they're learning to do that consistently as a group. I'm very pleased to watch it unfold."
How It Happened
Post scores from Sydney Bauman and Micah Jones, respectively, helped SIUE edge out to a 6-2 lead with 6:34 to play in the first quarter.
Janae Gonzales looked to spark the Loyola offense, knocking down back-to-back triples to give the Ramblers their first lead of the night, 8-6. Offense would prove difficult to come by in the opening frame for both teams, as an
Allison Day hook shot put the Maroon & Gold in front, 10-8, at the end of the opening frame.
Nakiah Bell drained a three just 48 seconds into the second quarter to push SIUE back on top, 11-10, before
Abby O'Connor regained the lead for Loyola, knocking down a baseline jumper to make it 12-11. A conventional three-point play from Gonzales at the midway point of the quarter gave Loyola its largest lead of the half, 19-14, but the Cougars stayed within striking distance, trimming the margin to 25-23 at halftime following a pair of Jones free throws.
SIUE clawed back to even, 27-27, two minutes into the third quarter on an Allie Troeckler layup. Two
Kat Nolan layups helped edge Loyola back in front, the second of which extended the margin to 32-29 at the 5:39 mark.
Tiara Wallace came up with a key steal and fastbreak score to extend the lead back out to five, 38-33, but, as was the case to end the second quarter, the visitors continued to hang around, with a Jones layup as time expired trimming the gap to 39-35.
Wallace attacked the basket for two more before O'Connor added a pair of makes from the charity stripe to open up some breathing room for the Ramblers, 45-37, with 6:39 to play. SIUE closed back to within six, 47-41, on two Troeckler makes from the line, but Loyola responded with a 7-0 spurt, five of which came from Wallace, to put the game away.
Inside The Box Score
- Despite being held to just over 33 percent (17-of-51) from the field, Loyola answered the bell on the defensive end, limiting SIUE to a 32 percent clip (18-of-56) while forcing 12 Cougar turnovers.
- O'Connor paced a trio of Ramblers in double figures with 14 points, followed closely by Wallace (13 points) and Gonzales (10 points).
- Wallace, who scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half, ripped down 10 boards en route to her second double-double of the season. The Berkeley, Ill. native also dished out six assists, marking her fourth game this season with at least five helpers.
- Loyola improved to a perfect 6-0 this season when winning the rebounding battle (41-33).
- Bell led all scorers with 16 points but was limited to just four points during the second half.
Up Next
Loyola hits the road for the final time during non-conference play this weekend when it visits West Lafayette, Ind. on Sunday afternoon for a 1 p.m. (CT) matchup against Purdue.
