Box Score

ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Top-seeded Wichita State jumped out to a 13-point halftime lead and never looked back, downing Loyola by a final count of 59-42 this afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. The Shockers move to 27-4 overall with the victory and advance on to Saturday's semifinals, while the Ramblers wrap up the 2014-15 season with a final record of 6-25.

As was the case in yesterday's matchup with Bradley, both teams struggled to settle in to a rhythm on the offensive end. Taylor Manuel answered a score from Michaela Dapprich with a bucket of her own to tie the game at two with 16:40 to play in the first half. Bailey Farley drained a deep three to give the Ramblers their only lead of the game (5-4) just two minutes later. The sophomore's triple was Loyola's last field goal for over six minutes. Wichita State, the Valley's regular season champion, took full advantage of the Ramblers' struggles, using a 12-0 run to surge in front by 11 (16-5) with 8:31 remaining. Sam Lambrigtsen got the Maroon & Gold back on the board when she converted on a jumper at the 8:11 mark but Wichita State kept its foot on the gas, racing into halftime with a 26-13 lead.

The Ramblers finished the half at only 26% (6-of-23) from the field, tying a season-low scoring output for a half. Manuel led Loyola with four points and seven rebounds in the opening stanza. Alex Harden scored 11 points to pace the Wichita State attack.

Wichita State used its pressure defense to start the second half with a 6-0 spurt, pushing its lead to 19 (32-13) in the process. Molly Crosby's first two of the day sparked a 9-1 run for the ninth-seeded Ramblers that saw the margin shrink to 11 (33-22) with 11:22 to play. That proved to be as close as Loyola would get for the remainder of the game. Back-to-back three-pointers from Alie Decker reestablished a 15-point lead (39-24) for the Shockers with just under ten minutes remaining in regulation. An old-fashioned three-point play from Dapprich with 1:59 to go gave Wichita State its largest lead of the game (59-37) en route to a 59-42 victory.

Manuel, Crosby and Taylor Johnson each chipped in eight points for Loyola. Manuel also came away with a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Harden led a group of three Shockers to score in double figures with a game-high 16 points.