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CHICAGO, Ill. - Taylor Johnson finished with a game-high 24 points and Sam Lambrigtsen added a career-best 21 of her own as Loyola defeated No. 16/15 DePaul, 88-75, this afternoon at McGrath-Phillips Arena in Chicago, Ill. With the win, Loyola's second over a ranked opponent in program history and first over its rival to the south since the 1993-94 season, the Ramblers move to 3-7 on the year, while the Blue Demons fall to 8-5.

"I think our players really decided that they were ready to win and play some good basketball before Christmas break," Loyola head women's basketball coach Sheryl Swoopes said. "I thought we really put four good quarters together today. DePaul is a really good team. I thought our game plan was spot on. More than that, they just went out, they played hard, they executed the game plan. They played together and fortunately we were able to come out and win the game today."

Following a bucket from Dakota Vann to open the scoring, 2-0, at the 9:10 mark of the first quarter, DePaul rattled off 11 unanswered points, five of which came from Megan Podkowa, to build an 11-2 edge with less than three minutes gone. Lambrigtsen drained her first of four triples with 6:11 to play to slice the margin back down to six, 11-5, but a 6-2 spurt from the hosts followed as the lead reached double digits, 17-7, on Jessica January's layup with 3:42 to go. The Ramblers came roaring back to end the quarter, closing the frame on a 12-5 run that saw Lambrigtsen bury another shot from distance, to cut the DePaul lead to 22-19.

The Maroon & Gold carried momentum over into the second quarter, scoring the first 11 points of the period. Back-to-back threes from Lambrigtsen bookended a Ryaen Johnson post score that helped the Ramblers race in front by five, 27-22, at the 8:29 mark. Brandi Segars connected from beyond the three-point arc following Lambrigtsen's second three of the quarter to bump the lead to eight, 30-22, and force a DePaul timeout. The Blue Demons answered right back after the stoppage, going on an 8-0 run to knot the game up at 30-30 with 5:33 remaining. Loyola would go on to hold the Blue Demons scoreless for the remainder of the half, going on its second 11-0 run of the quarter, to race into the locker room with a 41-30 advantage.

Lambrigtsen's 17 points in the first half equaled her career-high as the Ramblers shot a blistering 55 percent (17-of-31) from the field, while holding a high-powered Blue Demon offense to only a 30 percent mark (12-of-40). January and Chanise Jenkins each added eight points to lead the DePaul attack.

As was the case in the first half, Vann opened the scoring for Loyola, converting on a drive to the basket, to push the Rambler lead to 13 (43-30) in the opening seconds of the third quarter. DePaul slowly began to chip away at its deficit as time progressed, clawing back to within four on two separate occasions, only to see Taylor Johnson and Taylor Manuel, respectively, answer with scores to bump the lead back up to six each time. Lambrigtsen's first two of the third quarter reestablished a double-digit lead, 57-47, at the 1:47 mark. Back-to-back scores from Nieka Wheeler saw the margin balloon to 14 (63-49) before a buzzer-beating three from Ashton Millender cut the lead to 11 (63-52) heading to the fourth quarter.

The Ramblers managed to keep the lead between 10 and 15 points throughout the early stages of the final frame before an 8-2 DePaul surge, capped off by back-to-back treys from Podkowa and Brooke Schulte, made it a four-point game, 72-68, with 4:30 to play. Johnson took over from that point, scoring eight of Loyola's next 10 points, to extend the lead back out to nine, 82-73, with just over a minute remaining. The Ramblers salted the game away from the charity stripe from that point forward, clinching their first win over a ranked foe since the 2009-10 campaign.

Johnson's 24 points, 20 of which came in the second half, are the most for the Frankfort, Ill. product since a 23-point effort against Marquette last season. Lambrigtsen's career day was bolstered by the sophomore connecting on four three-pointers, also a career-high mark. Also joining the duo in double figures was Vann (13 points), Manuel, who notched her fourth double-double of the season (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Wheeler (10 points). Manuel dished out a career-high eight assists as well, finishing just two short of notching the second triple-double in program history. Chanise Jenkins led a group of four Blue Demons to score in double figures with 20 points.

Loyola will look to build on its victory when it heads to Houston, Texas to take on Rice in seven days (Dec. 28). Tip-off from the Tudor Fieldhouse is scheduled for 7 p.m.