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CHICAGO - Taylor Manuel and Sam Lambrigtsen each recorded double-doubles as Northern Iowa held off a late charge by Loyola, defeating the Ramblers by a final score of 75-58 this afternoon inside Gentile Arena. The Panthers improve to 6-7 (2-0 Missouri Valley) with the victory, while the Ramblers drop to 2-11 (0-2 Missouri Valley).

Manuel and Lambrigtsen got Loyola off to a great start, converting back-to-back old-fashioned three-point plays to put the Maroon & Gold up three (6-3) in the game's opening minutes. Following another Lambrigtsen score that pushed the lead to five, Amber Sorenson buried the first of 14 Northern Iowa three-point baskets on the day to pull the visitors to within two (8-6). Loyola continued to hold on to the lead as the half wore on before threes on consecutive trips by Sorenson gave Northern Iowa its first lead (19-17) of the afternoon with 8:23 remaining in the first half.

A split at the free throw line by Lambrigtsen cut the deficit back down to one possession (21-18) before the Panthers countered with the next five points to open up their largest lead of the first half (26-18). Lambrigtsen was able to convert a layup in traffic with only 53 seconds remaining to claw Loyola back to within five (29-24) heading into halftime.

The Ramblers struggled from the field in the opening stanza, shooting at just under a 30% (8-of-27) clip. Northern Iowa didn't fare much better, shooting an even 30% (9-of-30), but knocked down seven first-half three-pointers. Lambrigtsen led Loyola with ten points in the first half, while Manuel grabbed a team-high seven boards to go along with seven points. Sorenson finished with 15 points for the Panthers, all of which came from beyond the three-point arc.

Northern Iowa had built its lead up to nine points (40-31) by the 15:13 mark of the second half before Loyola slowly started to chip away. Baskets on consecutive trips from Manuel and Becca Smith made it a five-point game (40-35) just under a minute later. A pair of makes from Lambrigtsen at the charity stripe pulled the Ramblers even closer (40-37) with 12:49 to play in regulation.

Following a Lambrigtsen layup that once again made it a three-point game (42-39) with just under 13 minutes to play, Northern Iowa knocked down three-straight three-pointers, two of which came from Sorenson, to open up a 12-point advantage with 11:06 remaining. Loyola again battled back, getting to within six (59-53) again with only 5:28 to go. As was the case earlier in the half, Northern Iowa found its answer from beyond the arc. Madison Weekly and Brooke Brown each connected from distance to push the lead back into double-digits on two separate occasions as the Panthers picked up their second victory of the young conference season.

Manuel finished her night with 21 points and 15 rebounds, both team-high marks, as she recorded her second consecutive double-double and third in the last four games. Lambrigtsen posted career-best marks in points (17) and rebounds (10) en route to a double-double of her own. Sorenson led a group of three Panthers to finish in double-figures in scoring with 21 points as she connected on seven three-pointers.

Loyola heads to the state of Indiana next week as it plays its first two of nine conference road games. The Ramblers will take on Evansville on Thursday night (Jan. 8) at 7 p.m. from the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. before wrapping up the weekend with a Sunday afternoon (Jan. 11) matinee against the Indiana State Sycamores at 1:05 p.m. (CT) in Terre Haute, Ind.