Jan. 24, 2014

Box Score

DES MOINES, Iowa - Troy Hambric posted her second consecutive double-double and Lyndsey Booker and Ayrealle Beavers hit pressure-packed free throws in the final minute as Loyola withstood a school-record setting performance from Kyndal Clark to defeat Drake, 75-69, this evening at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa. The Ramblers improve to 8-10 (4-2 Missouri Valley), picking up their third-straight victory, while Drake falls to 7-11 (1-6 Missouri Valley).

Both teams opened the game on a tear at the offensive end of the floor. Beavers gave Loyola its first lead of the night (7-6) when she buried a three-point shot before Clark answered right back for Drake on the next possession to reclaim the lead for the homestanding Bulldogs (9-7) at the 17:29 mark of the first half. The game would remain tight in the opening minutes before the Ramblers used an 11-0 run, bolstered by a pair of threes from Erin Thomas, to open up their largest lead of the night (24-13) and force a Drake timeout with 9:10 remaining in the half.

Following the timeout, Clark preceded to carry her team back into the game from distance, connecting four times from behind the three-point arc as Drake scored the final 10 points of the half to roll into the halftime break with a 37-33 lead. Both teams shot over 40% in the opening 20 minutes but Drake used a 40% clip (8-of-20) from distance to take the halftime advantage.

Baskets from Hambric and Molly Crosby to open the second half tied the game (37-37) with just under a minute gone. After the Bulldogs regained a three-point lead, Loyola roared back with 10 unanswered points, culminated by a Beavers steal and layup, to take a seven-point lead (49-42), its largest of the half, and force another timeout by the home side. Yet again it was Clark who pulled Drake back into the game, hitting three times in a row from distance, to give her team the lead (57-55) with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game.

Hambric and Becca Smith combined to score the next five points for Loyola, providing the Ramblers with a slim one-point advantage (60-59) with 5:29 left to play. Clark answered back, hitting her final three of the night before completing an old-fashioned three-point play on Drake's next trip down the floor to open up a 65-60 lead for Bulldogs at the 4:26 mark. Back-to-back threes from Smith and Beavers pushed Loyola back in front (66-65) with 3:01 remaining before Caitlin Ingle scored on back-to-back possessions to put Drake back on top (69-66) with 1:52 to play.

Ingle's final score provided Drake with its last points of the night. Crosby pulled the Maroon & Gold back to within a single-point (69-68) before Hambric put Loyola ahead for good with a layup on the next Rambler possession. Booker and Beavers extinguished any hope for the Bulldogs from the free throw line, hitting on five of six, as Loyola picked up a pivotal conference road victory.

Hambric finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, both team-highs, en route to her second double-double in as many games. Smith (15) and Beavers (10) also finished in double-figures for Loyola. Clark led the way for Drake with a game-high 36 points, highlighted by shooting 10-of-15 from distance as she shattered the school's single-game three-point record.

Loyola returns to action on Sunday afternoon when it closes out a two-game road swing through the state of Iowa with a matchup against the Northern Iowa Panthers. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. form the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa.