Box Score

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Taylor Manuel picked up her second double-double in as many games to lead a group of three Ramblers to finish in double figures in scoring but Northern Iowa closed the game on a 9-4 run to defeat Loyola, 69-64, this evening inside the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Panthers move to 15-13 overall (11-6 Missouri Valley) with the victory, while the Ramblers drop to 5-23 (3-14 Missouri Valley) ahead of Saturday's regular season finale.

Both teams struggled to settle into a rhythm on the offensive end to begin the game. An Amber Sorenson three-pointer broke the scoreless deadlock (3-0) with just under three and a half minutes gone. Back-to-back scores from Becca Smith and Manuel gave the Ramblers their first lead of the evening (4-3) with 14:41 to play in the first half. The hosts answered with an 8-2 to run to open a five-point edge (11-6) at the 9:12 mark of the opening stanza.

Simone Law snapped a 5:10 scoreless drought for the Maroon & Gold with her first two points of the night, trimming the Panther lead to three (11-8) with 8:54 to play. The South Holland, Ill. product's bucket started a streak that saw the Ramblers connect on 12 straight attempts from the field to close the half. Following a mid-range score from Law with just under six minutes to play, Sam Lambrigtsen buried a deep triple to help Loyola regain the lead (15-14) with exactly five minutes remaining. The Ramblers continued to push forward, extending the margin to six (21-15) on another basket from Law at the 3:15 mark of the half. A layup from Manuel on the Ramblers' final possession sent the visitors into the locker room with their largest lead of the game to that point, 32-24.

The Maroon & Gold shot a blistering 56% (15-of-27) in the first half, while holding Northern Iowa to only seven field goals (21%). Manuel and Law paced the Ramblers on the offensive end, each scoring eight points. Taylor Johnson chipped in seven points as well. Manuel was a force down in the painted area, coming away with 10 rebounds. Alyssa Johnson led the way for the Panthers with seven points.

Northern Iowa looked to pull itself back into the game from beyond the three-point arc to open the second half. Brooke Brown and Sorenson each connected from distance inside the first four minutes to trim Loyola's lead down to five (38-33) with 16:37 to play. Manuel locked up her sixth double-double of conference play on Loyola's next trip down the floor, converting an old-fashioned three-point play to bump the advantage right back up to eight (41-33). The St. Louis, Mo. native converted on back-to-back layups shortly after to give the Ramblers their largest lead of the evening (45-35) at the 14:14 mark of the second half.

Following a Johnson mid-range jumper that had Loyola up nine (47-38), the Ramblers went cold, failing to score for 5:38, as Northern Iowa used a run that saw it score 13 unanswered points to surge in front by four (51-47) with 8:25 remaining in regulation. Lambrigtsen split a pair of shots at the charity stripe to make it a one-possession game before Bailey Farley came off the bench to knock down her first three-pointer of the evening, leveling the game at 51 with seven minutes to go.

Northern Iowa continued to look to put Loyola away, opening up a five-point lead (60-55) but a score in the low post from Law followed by another clutch Farley trey tied the game (60-60) for the fourth and final time with 3:44 remaining in the second half. Another cold stretch proved to doom the Ramblers as they went scoreless for the next three minutes. Ellie Herzberg scored four points in rapid succession to put the Panthers back on top, ignitin an 8-0 spurt that gave Northern Iowa a lead that they would not relinquish.

Manuel and Johnson each finished the night with 17 points, while Manuel also collected 16 rebounds, one off of her career-high in the category. Law rounded out the Loyola trio to score in double figures with 10 points. Manuel and Molly Crosby each registered three blocks. Brooke Brown scored a game-high 20 points for Northern Iowa.

Loyola closes out the regular season portion of its schedule on Saturday afternoon when they head west to Iowa's state capital for a meeting with the Drake Bulldogs. Tip-off from the Knapp Center in Des Moines in slated for 2:05 p.m.