In Short…
Loyola University Chicago (2-4) earned its first home win under head coach Allison Guth with Friday's 69-56 victory over Saint Francis (PA) inside Gentile Arena. Sophia Nolan led the Ramblers with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, marking her fourth straight outing in double figures. Maya Chandler also reached double digits with 12 points.
 
How It Happened
Loyola never trailed in the contest and jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the opening four minutes of the game, making five of its first six shot attempts from the field. Nolan, who scored eight points in the first quarter, got the scoring started with four quick points and Chandler's 3-pointer at the 6:36 mark swung all the early momentum toward the Ramblers. Moments later, Kira Chivers buried a fastbreak three and Nolan added a putback layup to extend Loyola's lead to 16-4. The Ramblers shot 53.3% (8-15) in the first stanza while limiting the visitors to 22.2% (2-9), while taking an 18-7 advantage into the second quarter.
 
Saint Francis (0-5) scored six unanswered points to start the second period, trimming the deficit to 18-13 on Sam Miller's hook shot off an offensive rebound near the six-minute mark. However, Loyola clamped down defensively and outscored the Red Flash 12-3 over the next four-plus minutes of action. Anna Brown's 3-pointer at 3:03 put the Ramblers back ahead by 10, and a pair of made free throws by Jala Johnson put Loyola up 30-16 in the final minute of the opening half. Then, Maddie Scarborough's fastbreak layup in the closing seconds kept the lead at 14 going to the break with Loyola leading 32-18. It was the fourth time in six contests that the Ramblers held the lead at halftime.
 
Loyola's lead swelled to as much as 19 in the third quarter, and 20 in the fourth, despite Saint Francis outscoring the Ramblers by a point over the final 20 minutes of play. Sitori Tanin's layup at the 5:48 mark put the Ramblers in front, 41-22, and the closest the Red Flash would get the rest of the night was within 13 points. In a completely balanced offensive attack for the Ramblers, Nolan, Sam Galanopoulos and Julia Hoefling combined for 14 of Loyola's 16 points in the third quarter. The final period was more of the same with eight different players notching a point in the scoring column.
 
Inside The Box Score

• Loyola outshot Saint Francis 57.1% (8-14) to 28.6% (4-14) from three-point range
• The Ramblers recorded a season-high 13 steals including three each from Chivers and Sophia Nolan
• Loyola also stayed hot at the charity stripe, going 15 of 18 (83.3%) on free-throw attempts
• Loyola outscored the visitors 18-3 on fastbreak points
• Tanin and Chandler each grabbed a team-high four rebounds
• Galanopoulos finished with a team-best six assists with five points and two boards
• Brown chipped in with eight points while Chivers added seven off the bench
• Loyola had fewer turnovers than its opponent (20-15) for the first time this season
• Saint Francis' Layla Laws led all scorers with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting

Up Next
Loyola travels to Oxford, Ohio for a Monday night matchup against Miami (OH) at 6 p.m. CT.