Box Score

NORMAL, Ill. - A hot-shooting first half and a career day from Mary Sims helped Illinois State defeat Loyola, 72-56, this afternoon at Redbird Arena in Normal, Ill. With the win, the Redbirds move to 1-19 overall (1-8 Missouri Valley), while Loyola slips to 2-18 (0-9 Missouri Valley).

Destiny Washington got the Ramblers going on a snowy afternoon in Central Illinois, converting on a layup to put Loyola on top (2-0) in the early going. Buckets from Octavia Crump and Lindsay Smith gave the hosts their first lead of the day (4-2) with 17:43 to play in the first half. Taylor Johnson's second basket of the game helped Loyola regain the lead before a three out of the corner from Becca Smith gave the Maroon & Gold a four-point edge (11-7) with just under six minutes gone.

Following a Taylor Manuel score that reestablished a four-point lead (13-9) for Loyola, Sims connected on three straight shots, with an old-fashioned three-point play sandwiched in the middle, to give Illinois State a 16-15 advantage with 11:25 remaining. Another Sims score at the 6:32 mark capped off a 12-2 Redbird run that saw the deficit jump to nine (26-17). Illinois State kept its foot on the gas as it sprinted into the locker room with a 40-25 halftime lead.

The Redbirds shot a blistering 53.6% (15-of-28) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, while holding Loyola to only a 33.3% (9-of-27) clip. Taylor Johnson led the Ramblers with six points in the half. Sims finished with 16 points, surpassing her previous career high, on 7-of-8 shooting to go along with a team-high four rebounds.

A mid-range jumper from Tiana Karopulos helped pull the Ramblers back to within 13 (41-28) with four minutes gone in the second half. Illinois State fired right back when Katy Winge drained one of her three three-pointers of the afternoon, followed by a Taylor Stewart score that pushed the lead back up to 18 (46-28) for the Redbirds. Another Winge triple edged the lead up to the 20-point plateau (53-33) with 9:48 to play.

With time running out, Loyola looked to make a late push. Manuel and Washington each hit on a pair of shots from the charity stripe before Karopulos connected from long distance to cut the lead back down to 13 (61-48) with four minutes on the clock. The Ramblers were unable to make a greater dent though as Illinois State dashed any hopes for a Loyola comeback from the free throw line down the stretch.

Johnson and Manuel both reached double figures in scoring for Loyola, finishing with 13 points and 12 points, respectively. Johnson added five steals, while Manuel came away with a team-high seven rebounds. Sims led a group of four Redbirds to score at least 10 points with a career-best 22.

Loyola is back in action on Friday evening (Feb. 6) when it returns to Gentile Arena to host the Evansville Purple Aces. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will also be available on ESPN3.