Dec. 7, 2008
Final Stats
CHICAGO - Loyola pushed local rival DePaul right down to the wire but the Blue Demons' Deirdre Naughton scored 11 of her game-high 27 points in the final six minutes as the Ramblers dropped a 68-64 decision this afternoon at the Gentile Center. Junior Maggie McCloskey led three Ramblers in double figures with 17 points.
After spotting DePaul the first seven points of the game, Loyola came alive. A McCloskey three-pointer got the Ramblers on the board and a steal and lay-up from Jessica Hylton tied the game at 7-all after four minutes. The teams matched basket for basket through the middle stages of the half before the Blue Demons rattled off five straight points to grab a 24-17 lead at the 7:07 mark. McCloskey answered with a three to move the Ramblers within four and the hoop started a 15-6 Loyola run over the next six minutes that ended with Loyola enjoying a 32-30 lead with just over a minute to play in the half. Keisha Collins and Lisa Samplawski each knocked down shots in the run, which was capped by consecutive three-pointers from Samplawski and Hylton and a Shannon Finnegan lay-up. However, Naughton answered with a long three-pointer with 11 seconds left to give DePaul a 33-32 lead at halftime. Both teams shot 46% from the floor in the opening period. Loyola knocked down four from the three-point arc while DePaul outscored the Ramblers, 5-0, from the free throw line.
Loyola regained the lead on the opening possession of the second half when Ellen Ayoub beat the shot clock, scoring from a sitting position in the lane to make it 34-33. After DePaul took the lead back, McCloskey pulled LU into a 39-39 tie with another three-ball but two baskets from Natasha Williams and another from Rachel Pierson gave DPU a 47-41 lead with 13:30 on the clock. Loyola refused to go away, and McCloskey and Collins scored five points each in a 10-0 LU spurt that gave the Ramblers a 51-47 lead midway through the period. After a China Threatt trey pulled DePaul within one, the Ramblers rattled off eight of the next 10 points, capped by a Samplawski three-point play, to put the finishing touches on a larger 18-5 run that gave LU its largest lead of the game, 59-52. Naughton would take over from there, scoring five points and assisting on a Williams bucket that drew DePaul even at 59 apiece.
Naughton scored again to give DePaul a 61-59 lead but the Ramblers came right back, with McCloskey hitting Brittany Boeke for a hoop inside to tie the game for the eighth time with 3:27 left. Sam Quigley knocked down a pair from the line to give DePaul a 64-61 lead at the 1:21 mark and Loyola worked it for a good shot on the ensuing possession, only to see McCloskey shoot just long on a three that would have tied the score with a minute to play. Naughton drained a tough step-back jumper on the ensuing possession and the Blue Demons hit enough free throws over the final 30 seconds to escape with the win.
McCloskey finished with 17 points and six assists in 38 minutes while Collins added 14 points and four assists against just one turnover while playing all 40 minutes.
"We just went out there and battled and played fearless, like we had nothing to lose," said McCloskey. "I think everyone on our team wanted to make a statement about Loyola basketball today and how tough we can be when we work together."
Samplawski and Finnegan gave the Ramblers a spark off the bench. Samplawski knocked down all four of her shot attempts en route to a career-high 10 points while Finnegan finished with eight points and five boards.
Loyola takes a break for final exams before returning to the court on Dec. 18 against Central Michigan at the Gentile Center.
