Final Stats

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Taylor Manuel led all scorers with 17 points as Missouri State defeated Loyola, 83-64, this evening inside JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo. The Lady Bears move to 10-13 overall (7-5 Missouri Valley) with the victory, while the Ramblers slip to 4-20 (2-11 Missouri Valley) on the season.

Taylor Johnson got the Ramblers off and running on a cold Sunday night in the Ozarks, scoring the first four points of the game to put Loyola in front (4-0) with two and a half minutes gone. Following a pair of scores from Tyonna Snow that knotted the game up at four all, baskets on consecutive trips from Manuel and Becca Smith put the Ramblers back on top (8-4). The Lady Bears answered back with seven of the game's next nine points to take control of the lead (14-10) with 11:16 to play in the first half. A 13-2 run by the hosts ensued shortly after, which pushed the deficit to 13 (27-14) at the 8:26 mark.

Loyola looked to chip away at the lead as the first half began to wear down. A 6-0 spurt, with baskets coming from Johnson, Manuel and Simone Law, pulled the Ramblers back to within seven (27-20) with just over six minutes remaining. As would be the case throughout the evening, the hosts had a response, bumping the margin back up to 13 (38-25) on a pair of Audrey Holt free throws inside the final two minutes of the first half. Law sent the Ramblers into the locker room with some momentum, splashing home her final two of four first-half field goals as Missouri State's lead was sliced back down into single digits (38-29) at halftime.

Manuel closed the opening stanza with a team-high 10 points on perfect five-of-five shooting, also grabbing five rebounds, as the Ramblers closed out the half at just over 54% (13-of-24) from the field. The difference came from beyond the three-point arc with the Lady Bears knocking down four triples, compared to none for Loyola. Liza Fruendt accounted for two of those as she paced the Missouri State attack with 10 points of her own.

Missouri State came out with its foot on the gas from the opening whistle of the second half, holding Loyola scoreless for the first 4:35 after the restart. The Lady Bears took full advantage on the offensive end of the floor during the stretch, extending their lead to 17 (46-29) on a Holt free throw at the 15:32 mark.

Johnson put home her third bucket of the evening on the ensuing Rambler possession as Loyola again began the process of battling back. Sam Lambrigtsen's first of two three-point baskets sparked an 8-0 run for the visitors, which was capped off by a mid-range jumper from Destiny Washington that had Loyola down only six (51-45) with just over ten minutes to play. Missouri State's lead hovered between five and eight points over the next four minutes before Lexi Hughes drained one of her four threes on the night to push the Lady Bear lead into double figures (51-40) for good with 6:08 remaining. The Ramblers could get no closer than ten points for the remainder of the game as Missouri State closed out its seventh conference victory.

Manuel, who has scored at least ten points in 11 of Loyola's 13 Valley contests, led a trio of three to finish in double figures for the Maroon & Gold, a group that also included Johnson (16) and Law (12). Manuel also came away with a team-high eight rebounds and was followed closely by Law, who grabbed seven, in the category. Fruendt and Hillary Chvatal each scored 16 points to lead the homestanding Lady Bears.

Loyola wraps up a season-long three-game road trip on Friday evening (Feb. 20) when it travels down Interstate 55 for a clash with in-state rival Bradley. Tip-off from Renaissance Coliseum is scheduled for 7 p.m.