Jan. 10, 2008

Box Score

CHICAGO - Loyola rallied from a nine-point, second-half deficit to pull even but Butler hit some big shots down the stretch and sealed the game at the foul line, taking a 61-50 decision over the Ramblers tonight at the Gentile Center. Loyola, which was playing its first home game in 36 days (Dec. 5, 2007) slumps to 2-12 (0-3 Horizon) while Butler improves to 11-2 (1-1).

After the teams scored on the first three possessions of the game, they combined to miss their next 12 shots combined (six apiece) before Brittany Boeke scored inside to even the game at 4 over five minutes into the contest. Both teams finally settled in and Loyola inched out to a 14-12 lead on another Boeke hoop. A three-pointer from Butler's Tara Miller gave the visitors the lead back but the Ramblers stayed close and a lay-in from Elyse VanBogaert pulled LU within a point (19-18) at the 6:44 mark. Loyola's offense stagnated over the next couple minutes and Butler took advantage, using three Rambler turnovers to rattle off nine straight points and open a double digit lead (29-19) with 3:26 to play. A three-pointer from Maggie McCloskey helped the hosts gain some momentum back and trim the deficit to five with under a minute left but a Tara Miller hoop and a steal and hoop from Brittany Bowen in the waning seconds sent the Bulldogs to the locker room with a 33-24 lead. Sloppy ball-handling hurt Loyola in the opening 20 minutes, as the Ramblers turned the ball over 13 times, including six in the last 4:36.

A pair of Keisha Collins free throws opened the second-half scoring and VanBogaert followed with a jumper to get the lead back down to five but, just as in the first half, Loyola struggled to find the range in the early going and Butler re-opened the lead to nine on a free throw from Lade Akande. McCloskey shook free for another three to make it a six-point game and the hoop started a 14-5 LU run that ended with a Brittney Marshall three-point play that tied the game at 44 with 9:52 left. Butler responded with an Azjah Bass hoop to regain the lead and Loyola lost its offensive rhythm, missing 10 of its next 11 field goal attempts and scoring just four points over the next eight minutes as the Bulldogs crept out to a 55-48 lead. Shannon Finnegan put in her own miss to pull LU within five at the 1:45 mark bit Akande answered with a hoop inside and Butler would put the game away at the foul line.

Loyola's shooting, which had been hovering around 50% for the first 30 minutes, betrayed them down the stretch as the Ramblers hit 2-of-14 (14.3%) over the last 10 minutes.

VanBogaert led the Ramblers with 14 points while McCloskey added 10 points of her own. Boeke finished with eight points in 26 minutes off the bench while Collins posted totals of five points, eight rebounds and five assists despite struggling through a 1-for-10 shooting night. Susan Lester had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Butler.

Loyola returns to action on Saturday afternoon with a 2 p.m. game against Valparaiso at the Gentile Center.