Box Score

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Host Green Bay closed the fourth quarter on a 19-3 run as it picked up a 65-51 win over Loyola this evening at the Kress Center in Green Bay, Wis. The Phoenix move to 7-2 overall with the win, while the Ramblers fall to 2-7.

The Ramblers struggled mightily on the offensive end in the early stages of the first quarter. A long two from Taylor Manuel with 5:37 to play got Loyola on the board, 7-2, after Green Bay rattled off the game's first seven points. The Phoenix answered Manuel's bucket with another 7-0 spurt, the last two of which came on a steal and layup from Mehryn Kraker, to make it 14-2 at the 4:04 mark. Grace Goodhart helped mount a late charge for the Maroon & Gold though, knocking down a pair of triples, to help pull Loyola within six, 18-12, at the end of the first quarter.

Following a three from Allie LeClaire to open the scoring in the second frame, the Ramblers used a 7-0 run, capped off by a deep triple from Dakota Vann, to slice the deficit down to two, 21-19, with just under four minutes gone. Green Bay, playing in front of its home crowd for the first time since Nov. 21, answered right back with seven of the game's next eight points to reestablish an eight-point edge, 28-20, with 4:26 to go. Loyola refused to go away though as two more Goodhart, including one to close the half, saw the Ramblers cut the margin to four, 34-30, at halftime.

An old-fashioned three-point play from Manuel and another three from Vann gave Loyola its first lead of the night, 36-34, with 7:33 to play in the third quarter. As was the case in the second quarter, the Phoenix responded, going on a 9-2 run to open up a 43-38 advantage at the 2:33 mark. The Ramblers answered with a surge of their own. Back-to-back scores from Brandi Segars ignited a stretch that saw Loyola score the quarter's final eight points to take a 46-43 lead into the fourth.

LeClaire buried her third three-point field goal of the night just seconds into the quarter to knot the game up at 46-46. Nieka Wheeler put the Ramblers back on top, 48-46, a minute later before the Phoenix took charge of the game. Green Bay ran off 15 straight points, nine of which came from LeClaire, and held Loyola scoreless for over seven minutes as it opened up a 61-48 lead with 1:56 remaining in regulation. Manuel broke the scoreless drought with a post score shortly after but the Ramblers were unable to get the Phoenix lead back into single digits before time expired.

Manuel paced the Rambler attack with team-high 14 points to go along with four rebounds and five assists. Goodhart joined her in double figures with 12 points, all picked up from beyond the three-point arc. LeClaire led all scorers with 26 points on the night.

Loyola returns to action at the beginning of next week when it makes the short trip to Lincoln Park to take on No. 16/15 DePaul in a Monday afternoon matinee. Tip-off from McGrath-Phillips Arena is scheduled for noon.