March 14, 2014
Box Score
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Troy Hambric poured in a game-high 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the final game of her collegiate career as Indiana State defeated Loyola, 61-52, this afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. Indiana State (20-10, 14-4 Missouri Valley), the tournament's top-seed, moves into Saturday's semifinals, while the Ramblers see their season come to an end with a final record of 11-21 overall.
Indiana State raced out to a quick 6-0 lead before Hambric put Loyola on the board (6-2) with just over two minutes gone. Anna Munn answered with a three to give the Sycamores their largest lead of the first half (9-2) with 16:51 remaining. The Ramblers would then erupt for seven unanswered points, capped off by another Hambric score, to tie the game (9-9) two minutes later.
Loyola grabbed its first lead (15-13) on another Hambric bucket at the midway point of the first half. Munn answered with another three to put the Sycamores back on top (16-15) with 8:43 to play. They would stretch the lead to four (21-17) before back-to-back threes from Bailey Farley put the upset-minded Ramblers back on top (23-21) with a shade under five minutes to play. A pair of Hambric free throws tied the game for the sixth time in the opening 20 minutes as the two teams headed to halftime in a 29-29 deadlock.
The Ramblers shot a blistering 46.2% (12-of-26) in the first half and held the Sycamores to 31.4% (11-of-35), recording 10 blocks. Hambric finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Hoping to live up to its billing as the number-one seed, Indiana State came out of the locker room firing in the second half as the Sycamores scored nine of the first 11 points to open up a 38-31 advantage with three minutes elapsed. Baskets from Cate Soane and Hambric clawed Loyola back to within three (38-35) before the Sycamores answered with the next five points to open up an eight-point lead (43-35) at the 11:29 mark.
With time in its season running out, Loyola began to mount another charge. Becca Smith's first bucket of the day, sandwiched in between two more scores from Hambric, quickly brought the deficit back down to two (43-41) with 9:14 to play. After the Sycamores had edged the lead back to four, a steal and layup by Farley once again had Loyola hot on the heels (46-44) of the team that earned a share of the conference's regular season crown. The Sycamores responded with the next seven points to open up their largest advantage of the afternoon (53-44) at the 4:31 mark of the second half. Hambric's final bucket of the day got Loyola back to within five (53-48) but Indiana State iced the game at the line, booking its ticket into the semifinals.
Hambric wraps up her illustrious career in 15th-place on Loyola's all-time scoring list with 1,158 career points. She was joined in double-figures on the afternoon by Farley (10 points) and Molly Crosby (10 points). Crosby tied her career-high with five blocks as Loyola set a new single-game tournament record, swatting 12 attempts. Munn and Marina Laramie finished with 15 points each to lead the Sycamores.
