Dec. 18, 2012

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CHICAGO - Loyola gave visiting DePaul all it could handle for 30 minutes before the visitors slowly pulled away to earn an 87-69 win over the Ramblers tonight at Gentile Arena. Loyola slips to 3-6 with the loss while DePaul moves to 9-3 with the win.

Playing its first game in 10 days due to exams, Loyola got off to a terrific start as four different players scored to help the Ramblers to a 9-2 lead just over four minutes into the game. The teams traded baskets before the home team went cold, going scoreless for six minutes while the Blue Demons ran off 15 straight points to take a 20-11 lead with 9:19 left. Taylor Johnson took the game over during the next five minutes, scoring eight points to key an 11-2 run that pulled the Ramblers even at 22. Seven consecutive DePaul points put the visitors back in front (29-22) before Loyola closed out the see-saw half by scoring 11 of the final 14 points to take a 33-32 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Ramblers extended the margin to five (43-38) on a Lyndsey Booker three-pointer in the early stages of the second half before DePaul began to find its rhythm. An Anna Martin transition basket capped a 14-4 DePaul spurt that gave the visitors a 52-47 lead with 12:36 to play but a back-breaking 17-4 Blue Demon scoring run later upped the lead to 16 and the Ramblers would get no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

Loyola shot 36% from the floor for the game while DePaul used 56% marksmanship in the second half to finish at 45% for the night. In addition, the Blue Demons outrebounded the Ramblers by a 51-31 margin, leading to a decisive 23-7 edge in second chance points.

Johnson was terrific for the Ramblers, finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists to lead the way. Monica Albano added 14 points and Patrice King also reached double figures with her 13 points.

The Ramblers return to action on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 22) with a 2 p.m. home game against Chicago State.