Jan. 14, 2012
Box Score
Cleveland, Ohio - Sophomore Troy Hambric scored a career-high 26 points and Lisa Samplawski scored 17 of her 19 points in the first half as Loyola opened a 28-point halftime lead and cruised to an 85-67 win over Cleveland State this afternoon at the Wolstein Center. The Ramblers improve to 8-9 (3-3 Horizon) with their second consecutive road win while dropping the Vikings to 7-9 (2-3).
"We really did a good job of coming out and playing hard right from the beginning today," said head coach Eric Simpson. "We moved the ball very well and made good decisions on offense and were disciplined, defensively, particularly in the first half."
Lisa Samplawski came out hot, burying three-pointers on Loyola's first two possessions. After Cleveland State pulled within a point, the Rambler defense took root, holding Cleveland State to one field goal over in a 9:49 span as the LU offense found its rhythm. Samplawski and Hambric combined for 19 points in a 31-5 run that gave the Ramblers a commanding 39-12 lead at the 7:35 mark. Monica Albano added a pair of threes in the run and Loyola led by as many as 30 (48-18) in the period before settling for a 49-21 lead at halftime. The Ramblers blistered the nets at a 58% clip in the half while holding the home team to just five baskets (5 of 27, 19%).
Loyola led by as many as 32 in the first eight minutes of the second half, beating the Vikings full-court press for layups, before Cleveland State used the free throw line to pull within 15, however, the outcome was never in doubt.
Hambric was terrific, finishing 12-of-19 from the floor en route to her career-high 26 points. Samplawski, a late insertion into the starting lineup, finished 7-of-8 (3-3 3FGs) and equaled her season-high with 19 points. Simone Law racked up her second double-double of the weekend, and fifth of the season, with 14 points and 10 boards while Abby Skube had another solid game off the bench, narrowly missing a double-double with nine points and a season-high 11 rebounds.
"I thought Lisa really set the tone for us right from the start," said Simpson. "She got a couple of good looks early, knocked them down and everyone picked it up from there. Troy was outstanding as well. She was really taking what the defense gave her, took the ball hard to the rim and knocked down the mid-range jumpers when they were there."
Loyola returns home this week for a pair of games starting with a Thursday evening game against Valparaiso. Tip time from Gentile Arena is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. with the men's game against Valpo to follow.
