Nov. 17, 2007

Box Score

CHICAGO - Visiting Dayton used a 19-4 first-half run to take control and Loyola struggled to find the range all night in an 82-54 setback to the Flyers tonight at the Gentile Center. Loyola drops to 1-2 with the loss while Dayton evens its record at 2-2.

Dayton opened the game red-hot from the floor but Loyola was able to weather the early flurry, trailing just 12-9 after Maggie McCloskey setup Brittany Boeke for a hoop inside. After Dayton extended the lead to seven, Jana Lucas grabbed an offensive rebound and beat the shot clock with a corner jumper to make it a 16-11 game at the 13:55 mark. However, the Ramblers would go stone cold after that, missing 11 consecutive shots and going 7:19 without a point as the Flyers raced out to a 30-11 lead. Hoops from Elyse VanBogaert and Keisha Collins broke the drought as Loyola tried to cut into the deficit before halftime but it was Dayton that closed the half strong, scoring the last six points of the period to take its largest lead of the half (45-22) into the locker room. After opening 8-of-10 from the floor, Dayton ended the half shooting .457 (16-of-35) while Loyola hit just 8-of-30 (.267).

Loyola tried to chip away in the opening minutes of the second half behind McCloskey, Jennifer Juergens and VanBogaert but the Ramblers could not manage any consistency as Dayton cruised to the win, outrebounding the Ramblers 55-31 which led to a 24-4 edge in second-chance points.

For the game, the cold-shooting Ramblers connected on just 18-of-59 from the floor (.305).

VanBogaert led Loyola with a career-high 17 points and added eight rebounds. McCloskey added 14 points while Collins pitched in with 11 points, four rebounds and five assists.

Loyola returns to the court on Tuesday night when it takes on Chicago State at the Gentile Center. Tip time is set for 7 p.m.