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Live Stats vs. Evansville

CHICAGO (February 13, 2019) - Loyola University Chicago opens a stretch that sees it play five of its final seven games away from Gentile Arena this weekend as it heads to the state of Indiana for a pair of games.

The Maroon & Gold will open the two-game Hoosier State swing on Friday night at the Hulman Center against Indiana State at 6 p.m. (CT).  Loyola will then turn its attention south to an 11 a.m. Sunday matinee with Evansville at the Meeks Family Fieldhouse.  There will be no live stream of Sunday's game against the Purple Aces.
 

LAST TIME OUT
Loyola dropped a pair of games last weekend to close out a four-game homestand, falling to UNI, 71-65, and Drake, 83-55.  Janae Gonzales averaged a team-high 19.0 points across the two contests, highlighted by a 20-point showing in Friday's setback to the Panthers.  Abby O'Connor also impressed, averaging a double-double (12.5 points, 10.0 rebounds) over the weekend.
 

LOYOLA – INDIANA STATE – THE SERIES
Indiana State sports a 12-5 (.706) edge in 17 previous meetings with Loyola.  The Ramblers snapped a six-game skid in the all-time series back on January 20, holding on for a 56-54 win at Gentile Arena.  O'Connor (18 points), Gonzales (13 points) and Allison Day (10 points) all reached double figures in scoring for the Maroon & Gold in the victory.  Last month's win was just Loyola's third over Indiana State since moving to The Valley.  The Ramblers will be in search of their first triumph at the Hulman Center in program history on Friday, having gone winless in seven previous trips to Terre Haute.


LOYOLA – EVANSVILLE – THE SERIES
Loyola has rattled off three straight wins against Evansville to open up a 23-12 (.657) lead as part of a series that dates back to 1983.  The two institutions were no strangers to each other prior to Loyola joining the MVC, having both been members of the former Midwestern Collegiate Conference (MCC), now known as the Horizon League, from 1979-1994.  When the Ramblers and Purple Aces met on January 18 in Rogers Park, Loyola held Evansville to just 30.4 percent shooting as it grinded out a 61-56 win behind a team-high 14 points from Tiara Wallace.  
 

CAN'T SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES
Indiana State brings identical overall and league records to those of Loyola into Friday's matchup, sitting at 10-12 overall and 4-7 in Missouri Valley Conference play.

The Sycamores lost a pair of games in Central Illinois last weekend, coming up on the short end of decisions to both Bradley, 81-80, and Illinois State, 78-70.  Ashli O'Neal averaged a team-high 18.0 points and 4.5 assists across the two contests.

O'Neal, a 2017-18 All-MVC selection, leads the Sycamore roster in scoring (14.0 ppg), assists (2.4 apg) and steals (2.5 spg). Loyola was able to partially keep her in check in January, holding the explosive guard to 13 points on just 4-of-17 shooting.  Wichita State transfer Tamara Lee, who poured in 18 points in the aforementioned meeting, has impressed for first-year head coach Vicki Hall's team, chipping in 11.5 ppg while operating at a red-hot 40.8 percent (42-of-103) clip from beyond the three-point arc.
 

PLAYING CARDS
Evansville is in the midst of a 12-game slide that has seen the Purple Aces fall to 2-20 overall and 0-11 in Valley action.

Like Indiana State, Evansville suffered a pair of defeats last weekend, falling at Illinois State, 82-59, and Bradley, 81-63.  A bright spot in the road trip was the play of Marley Miller, who averaged 19.0 points over the weekend and connected on just over 47 percent (8-of-17) of her tries from three-point land.

Kerri Gasper, who reached the 1,000-point plateau for her career during the Purple Aces visit to Chicago in January, sits atop the scoring chart for head coach Matt Ruffing's team, averaging 11.3 points in addition to a team-best 7.1 rebounds.  Miller, who is just behind Gasper in scoring (9.6 ppg), has established herself as a legitimate threat from distance, knocking down a team leading 44 three-point field goals.  


UP NEXT
The Ramblers will return home for the final time next weekend to host Southern Illinois (February 22) and Missouri State (February 24). Senior Day festivities will precede Sunday's tilt with the Lady Bears.