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CHICAGO, Ill. - Taylor Manuel and Nieka Wheeler combined for 35 points to help push Loyola past Lamar, 82-71, this afternoon at Gentile Arena. With the win, the Ramblers improve to 2-3 on the season, while the Cardinals drop to 1-4.

The Ramblers raced out to an early 7-0 lead to open the game, as Dakota Vann drained a three-point jumper before a pair of Cardinal turnovers led to back-to-back layups from Wheeler. After the Cardinals pulled to within two points, the Rambler defense held Lamar to just one of its next five field goals, while layups from Wheeler and a pair of free throws from Manuel upped the score to 13-9 halfway into the first quarter. The teams then traded baskets until Lamar's JaMeisha Edwards sunk a three-point jumper with 24 seconds left on the clock to give the Cardinals a 20-19 lead after one quarter of action.

After a Cardinal free throw upped the Lamar lead to 21-19 in the second quarter, Taylor Johnson snagged a defensive rebound and dribbled the length of the court before dishing the ball to Citiana Negatu, who sank a jump shot to tie the game with five minutes remaining on the clock. Other than a made free throw from Ryaen Johnson, the Ramblers were held scoreless for the next three and a half minutes until Manuel spun around her defender to lay the ball in, giving the Ramblers a 24-23 lead. Both teams upped the score with a handful of free throws until Grace Goodhart dribbled around a screen and pulled up for a jumper to give Loyola the 30-27 lead with 2:40 remaining in the half. Lamar responded with a three-point jump shot to tie the game, but Loyola scored seven of the next nine points, including a three-point conversion from Manuel, to take a 37-32 lead with 14 seconds on the clock. However, a pair of Cardinal free throws in the final seconds of the quarter trimmed the Ramblers' advantage to 37-34 at halftime.

Lamar chipped away at the lead to begin the third quarter, and managed to stay within a bucket of the Ramblers until Sam Lambrigtsen led Loyola on a six-point run, as the sophomore sank a jumper from behind the arc before converting a conventional three-point play, to give the Ramblers a 49-42 lead. After holding the Cardinals to two of six field goals in the first five minutes of the quarter, Lamar's Chastadie Barrs hit a three-pointer to cut Loyola's lead to five points. The Ramblers held on to the steady lead until Goodhart picked a pass and dished the ball to Manuel, who dribbled the length of the court before laying the ball in to up the score to 56-49 with two minutes remaining. Each team sank a pair of free throws before time ran out, and Loyola headed into the fourth quarter with a 58-51 lead.

The Ramblers opened the fourth quarter by scoring five of the first six points, as a Lambrigtsen jumper capped a five-point run that gave Loyola its largest lead of the day at 63-52. After a pair of Lamar free throws, Loyola broke away with a six-point run, including layups from Manuel, Vann and Wheeler to up the score to 69-54 with six minutes remaining in the game. Wheeler helped Loyola maintain the steady lead with a trio of layups over the next two minutes, and the Ramblers held on to defeat Lamar, 82-71.

Taylor Manuel finished with a double-double, scoring 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds, while Taylor Johnson narrowly missed the feat after recording 10 assists and nine points. Nieka Wheeler's 20 points were a career-high, as the junior shot 9-for-12 from the field.