Dec. 10, 2011
Box Score
CHICAGO - Monica Albano knocked down five of Loyola's school-record 14 three-pointers but Northwestern was able to exploit its height advantage to escape with a 72-67 win over the Ramblers this afternoon at Gentile Arena. The Ramblers drop to 4-5 while Northwestern moves to 7-1 with the win.
"I was proud of how we battled today and played hard," said head coach Eric Simpson. "It was nice to see us bounce back after we did not play our best on Thursday but we compete to win games and we came up a bit short today. Northwestern is a team that is going to finish in the top half of the Big Ten this year so we are getting closer to where we need to be but still have to keep improving."
Lisa Samplawski helped Loyola get off to a great start, knocking down a pair of three-pointers as the home team scored the first eight points of the game. Consecutive baskets from Simone Law bumped the lead to 12 (15-3) with just over seven minutes gone before Northwestern battled back. A Kendall Hackney hoop cut the LU lead to six (17-11) but a Troy Hambric basket extended the lead back to nine at the 7:11 mark. However, the Wildcats closed the half strong and the teams went to the locker room at halftime tied at 32.
The Ramblers struggled to find their rhythm early in the second half and the bigger Wildcats took advantage, grabbing a 43-35 lead on another Hackney basket. Consecutive three-pointers from Monica Albano quickly cut the deficit to two but NU answered with an 11-0 run, opening a 57-44 lead with 8:25 remaining. The Ramblers were able to stem the tide and made a late rally. Threes from Albano and Abby Skube made it a nine-point game (67-58) at the 1:48 mark and the second of two Patrice King treys made it a 69-64 game with 36 seconds on the clock. However, Dannielle Diamant hit 5-of-6 from the stripe down the stretch to seal the win.
Albano, who was originally ruled out but played despite injury, came off the bench to lead the Ramblers with 19 points. She was joined in double figures by Samplawski (12 points), King (11) and Hambric (10 points, seven rebounds). Albano and Samplawski combined for nine of Loyola's school record 14 three-pointers. The Ramblers were efficient from the arc, knocking down 14-of-24 (58%) for the game.
"It was a gritty effort by Monica today," said Simpson. "We were prepared to play without her but she did not want to sit this one out and shot the ball very well. Patrice struggled a little bit but was able to hit a couple of threes down the stretch. I am really looking forward to having a couple of weeks here to have everybody back healthy and really have some good practices to help us get back to a high level to make a run once Horizon League play gets going."
Loyola takes a week off for final exams before returning to the floor next Sunday (Dec. 18) against Nebraska Omaha. Tip off from Gentile Arena is set for 2 p.m.
