Nov. 17, 2011
Box Score
Carbondale, Ill. -
Nov. 17, 2011
Box Score
Carbondale, Ill. - Monica Albano scored 17 of her game-high 23 points in the first and Simone Law had 13 of her 16 points after halftime as Loyola outscored Southern Illinois, 36-14, after the break to run away with a 66-44 win tonight at SIU Arena in Carbondale, Ill. The win gives the Ramblers their first 3-0 start since the 2001-02 season while the Salukis drop to 0-2 on the young season.
"I thought we really executed well on both ends of the floor for most of the second half," said head coach Eric Simpson. "We did not play very well in the first half, shot just 28% and did not do enough defensively but Monica really put us on her back to get us to halftime tied. Our defensive right out of the locker room in the second half got us going and Simone picked up the scoring slack. It was a terrific team defensive effort in the second half and it feels great to get another road win."
Southern Illinois got out of the gates quickly, racing out to an early 7-3 lead. A steal and lay-up from Albano pulled the Ramblers within a point (11-10) but the Salukis stayed hot, reeling off the next 11 points to take a 22-10 lead. Albano knocked down a pair of three-pointers as Loyola responded with a 12-0 run of its own to forge a 22-22 tie with 6:40 to go. The Ramblers took their first lead of the night (26-25) later after two Albano free throws and she sent the teams to the locker room tied with another jumper in the final 10 seconds. Albano carried the load in the opening 20 minutes, knocking down all five of her field goal attempts, including the two treys, and all five of her free throws for her 17 points.
Law split two free throws on the opening possession of the second half and the Ramblers reeled off a 7-0 run in the first 1:56 of the period to take a 37-30 lead. Law scored eight straight LU points during one stretch as the lead reached double figures for the first time (43-33) at the 15:00 mark. Consecutive SIU three-pointers cut the lead to six but Loyola leaned on its defense to put the game away. A driving lay-up from Patrice King bumped the lead back to eight and the Ramblers outscored their hosts 21-5 over the final 13 minutes, harassing the Salukis into six turnovers and 1-of-17 shooting during that stretch.
Albano added a pair of traditional three-point plays in the second half and she needed just nine field goal attempts to produce her 23 points. She also added seven rebounds from her guard position. Law added nine rebounds to her 16 points while the Ramblers also received contributions from Troy Hambric (eight points, nine rebounds, three steals, three blocks), King (nine points) and Katie Kortekamp (four points, seven boards).
"I was really proud of how Monica has let the game come to her this year," said Simpson. "She has done a terrific job of playing an all-around game and taking what the defense is giving her."
Loyola rebounded from its slow offensive start to shoot 48% in the second half while the defense held Southern Illinois to 23% shooting for the game and just 15% (4 for 27) after halftime.
The Ramblers return the floor on Sunday afternoon when they battle Eastern Michigan at North Park University. Tip time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
