Box Score

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Taylor Johnson poured in 29 points, tying her season-high, to lead a group of three Ramblers in double figures as Loyola claimed a 69-68 overtime victory over Southern Illinois this afternoon at the SIU Arena in Carbondale, Ill. The victory, Loyola's fifth straight, sees the Ramblers improve to 7-7 on the year and a Valley-best 3-0 in league play, while the Salukis fall to 10-6 overall (2-1 Missouri Valley).

Both teams operated at a high rate in the first half. Back-to-back scores from Becca Smith and Taylor Manuel quickly saw Loyola jump out to a 4-0 lead with less than 90 seconds gone in the opening quarter. The hosts battled back to tie the game at 6-6 on a Cartesha Macklin layup just over a minute later. A deep triple from Macklin vaulted Southern Illinois in front, 13-10, before Loyola came roaring back with an 8-0 run, capped off by a post score from Manuel, to take an 18-13 lead after one.

Loyola kept its foot on the gas to begin the second frame, extending the margin to double digits, 23-13, after a short jumper from Nieka Wheeler and a rainmaking three-pointer from Grace Goodhart. In a half of runs, the Salukis answered back with one of their own, rattling off 13 unanswered points to take a 26-23 lead on a Macklin score. An old-fashioned three-point play from Johnson knotted things up at 26 all shortly after but Southern Illinois did just enough to keep Loyola at bay as it held a slim one-point edge, 32-31, at halftime.

Led by Johnson's 11 first-half points, Loyola finished the opening 20 minutes at just under 43% (12-of-28) from the field, while Southern Illinois operated at a 48% clip (14-of-29). Manuel was very active on both ends of the floor, adding seven points, three rebounds, an assist and a block. Macklin contributed a team-high 10 points in the opening stanza to lead Southern Illinois.

Kylie Giebelhausen drained a shot from beyond the three-point arc only 48 seconds into the third quarter to give Southern Illinois the largest lead it would enjoy for the remainder of the afternoon, 35-31. Loyola responded with a 6-0 spurt that featured buckets from Manuel, Wheeler and Smith that pushed the Maroon & Gold in front by two, 37-35, at the 7:14 mark. Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference selection Dyana Pierre drained a mid-range jumper just over a minute later to tie the game at 37 all as things remained tight. A layup by Manuel and two more from Johnson gave Loyola a four-point edge on three separate occasions but a jumper from Rishonda Napier sliced the margin to two, 49-47, heading to the fourth quarter.

Johnson quickly bumped the lead back up to four, 51-47, only 12 seconds in before Carlie Corrigan connected on her only triple of the day seconds later to make it 51-50. The Ramblers were able to hold on to a slim lead throughout the middle stages of the fourth quarter prior to a pair of Macklin free throws that gave the Salukis a 56-55 edge with 3:01 to play in regulation. Pierre and Johnson traded 1-for-2 trips at the charity stripe as Southern Illinois maintained a one-point lead, 57-56, at the 1:17 mark. Manuel put the Ramblers up one, 58-57, when she converted after a crucial steal by Johnson under the Loyola basket. Following another Pierre split at the line, a flurry of activity occurred on the offensive end that ended with Johnson being unable to convert on a contested layup as time expired, sending the game to overtime deadlocked at 58-58.

The Ramblers built up an early four-point edge, 62-58, in the extra session after two more Johnson free throws and a jumper by Dakota Vann. Southern Illinois responded with the game's next six points to go in front by two, 64-62, at the 1:55 mark. Wheeler leveled things back up, 64-64, shortly after as the two teams continued to trade blows down the stretch. Macklin darted into the paint and finished on an acrobatic layup to give the Salukis the lead back, 68-66, with 32 seconds to go, setting the stage for an exciting finish.

Loyola stuck with its hot hand as Johnson wasted little time in darting to the rim and converting on an old-fashioned three-point play that gave the Ramblers a 69-68 lead. Following a Saluki timeout, Napier misfired on a triple but Loyola was unable to come away with the defensive rebound, giving the hosts a second chance. The Rambler defense would step up though, forcing Macklin into a tough pass that was intercepted by Smith, who raced down the floor to run out the clock and seal a crucial road victory.

Johnson collected a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with her game-high scoring output and notched her first double-double of the season. Manuel picked up her team-leading fifth double-double of the year (13 points, 11 rebounds) and also recorded a team-best three blocks. Wheeler added 12 points of her own to round out the trio of Ramblers to score in double figures. Mackin paced the Saluki attack with 22 points, while Pierre ripped down a game-high 17 rebounds and scored 16 points en route to a double-double of her own.

Loyola returns home for the first time since early December at the end of the week when it kicks off a brief two-game homestand by hosting Wichita State. Tip-off from inside Gentile Arena is set for 7 p.m.