Box Score

CARBONDALE, lll. - Taylor Johnson scored a game-high 19 points as Southern Illinois erased an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat Loyola, 64-58, this evening inside the SIU Arena in Carbondale, Ill. The victory sends the Salukis back above the .500 mark at 10-9 overall (3-5 Missouri Valley), while the Ramblers fall to 2-17 (0-8 Missouri Valley).

Loyola put the first five points of the night on the board, courtesy of a Becca Smith three and a Taylor Manuel layup. Rishonda Napier connected on a mid-range jumper to slice the lead to one (7-6) before scores on consecutive trips from Ryaen Johnson and Taylor Johnson extended the advantage back out to five (11-6) with just under six minutes gone. Manuel muscled in another shot from the paint to cap off a stretch that saw Loyola hit on four of five attempts to push the lead to seven (15-8) at the under 12-minute media timeout (11:22). A smooth baseline drive from Destiny Washington gave the Ramblers a nine-point lead (24-15) with 8:24 to play in the first half.

The hosts looked to find a route back into the game as the first half entered its closing stages. A pair of Cartaesha Macklin free throws made it a one-possession game (24-21) with 3:56 to play. Loyola had the answer though, scoring ten of the half's final 15 points, the final two of which came on a Manuel buzzer beater, to take a 34-26 lead into the locker room.

Taylor Johnson led the way for the Ramblers with 13 points in the opening 20 minutes. Manuel was a force on both ends of the floor, chipping in eight points and nine rebounds, as Loyola shot an even 50% (15-of-30) from the field, while holding the Salukis to a 28% (9-of-32) clip. Dyana Pierre closed the half with a team-high eight points for Southern Illinois.

Following a Manuel layup on the second half's first possession that gave Loyola its largest lead of the evening (36-26), Southern Illinois used a 9-2 spurt, the final three of which came on a Kylie Giebelhausen triple, to close the gap down to three (38-35) at the 16:17 mark of the second half, forcing a Loyola timeout. A coast-to-coast layup from Lambrigtsen helped the Maroon & Gold bump its advantage back up to seven (42-35) two minutes later and forced a Saluki timeout.

Southern Illinois refused to go away as the half progressed, eventually taking its first lead of the game on two Pierre makes from the charity stripe with 10:36 remaining in regulation. After Asia Washington converted on a second-chance opportunity to push the Saluki lead to three, Tiana Karopulos drained a three out of the corner to knot the game up at 47 with 9:23 to play. The hosts responded with seven unanswered points, punctuated by a Macklin three from the top of the arc, to open up a 54-47 lead with 5:59 remaining. Loyola cut the lead to five on four different occasions during the final six minutes but was unable to get any closer as Southern Illinois salted the game away from the free throw line.

Johnson finished 7-of-18 from the field as the redshirt sophomore out of Frankfort, Ill. fell just four points shy of her season-high 23-point output against Marquette back on Nov. 17. Manuel pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds to go along with 12 points en route to her fourth double-double since the beginning of conference play. Pierre led a group of three Salukis to score in double figures with 18 points and a game-high 18 rebounds.

Loyola wraps up a two-game in-state road swing when it takes on the Illinois State Redbirds in a Super Bowl Sunday matinée. Tip-off from Redbird Arena is scheduled for 12:05 p.m.