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Shannon Finnegan scored 11 points and grabbed seven boards against Valpo

Women's Basketball

Turnovers Prove Costly As Loyola Downed By Valparaiso, 69-52

Jan. 17, 2009

Box Score

Valparaiso, Ind. - Host Valparaiso used a 16-4 run midway through the second half to take control and Loyola could not find a way back in a 69-52 setback today at the ARC in Valparaiso, Ind. Loyola drops to 5-10 (0-5 Horizon) while Valpo improves to 9-7 (4-2).

Neither team was able to get much going on the offensive end in the early going, with Valpo creeping out to an 8-2 lead six minutes into the game. Lisa Samplawski, playing in front of a group of family and friends, buried a three-pointer and a steal and lay-up from Jessica Hylton later drew the Ramblers within a point (11-10) at the midway point of the half. Valpo rattled off 10 straight points to take a 21-10 lead at the 6:46 mark before the Ramblers buckled down. A Keisha Collins bucket started a 13-5 LU run over the last 4:34 of the period - a run capped by a Maggie McCloskey three-pointer in the final seconds - to make it a 28-25 game at intermission. The Ramblers turned the ball over 16 times in the opening period, leading to 18 VU points, but got stellar play off the bench from Shannon Finnegan, who posted eight points, seven boards and three blocks in her 11 minutes.

An Ellen Ayoub basket pulled the Ramblers within one in the early moments of the second half but LU struggled to get over the hump. After Launa Hochstetler bumped Valpo's lead to eight, McCloskey and Hylton each knocked down three-pointers to make it a 43-37 game at the 13:14 mark. However, Hochstetler and Sylwia Zabielewicz combined for 12 points in the decisive spurt that ended with VU holding a commanding 57-41 lead at the 6:38 mark and Loyola would get no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

Finnegan led a balanced attack with 11 points and Brittany Boeke and McCloskey added eight points apiece for the Ramblers, who saw their 26 turnovers turned into 29 Crusader points. Hochstetler scored 13 of her game-high 18 points in the second half to pace Valpo.

Loyola returns home for a pair of games next week beginning with a battle against Green Bay on Thursday night at 7 p.m.

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