Box Score
In Short…
Led by a breakout showing from
Allison Day, Loyola University Chicago used a big fourth quarter to pick up a 52-43 victory over visiting Detroit Mercy in its 2018-19 home opener this evening inside Gentile Arena. The victory moves the Ramblers back to the .500 mark at 1-1, while the Titans drop to 1-2.
Kate Achter's Thoughts…
"I'm really impressed with the resiliency of our kids. Credit to Detroit. They plan an extended two-three zone that takes you out of your rhythm. Our kids just kept fighting and finding a way to get scores because tonight they didn't come easy. I'm thoroughly impressed with how Allison (Day) handled it and with some of the contributions we got from Ellie (Rice) and Tiara (Wallace). I thought they really anchored us down when we needed it during the final stretch."
How It Happened
Both teams were forced to weather a cold start on the offense end. A three from Paige Bellman snapped a game-opening 3:34 scoreless drought, putting the Titans in front, 3-0. Brittany Jackson added a triple for the hosts before
Allison Day got the Ramblers on the board, 6-2, with 4:22 remaining in the opening frame. The Detroit Mercy lead would reach double digits, 12-2, before Loyola began to find its footing, with a
Kailyn Strawbridge three at the buzzer trimming the Titans' lead to 14-9.
Detroit Mercy quickly upped the margin back up to seven, 16-9, on a Zoey Oatis jumper just nine seconds into the second quarter. Scores on consecutive trips from
Abby O'Connor and
Tiara Wallace cut the gap to only two, 17-15, at the 7:27 mark. Offense would again be tough to come by, with both teams going scoreless for 4:08 until an Ashley Miller layup extended the Titans' lead to 19-15. O'Connor's lone three of the night pulled Loyola even at 19-19 with 1:23 remaining but Oatis responded with a trey of her own to send Detroit Mercy into the locker room with a 22-19 advantage.
Following another slow start for both teams coming out of halftime, the visitors would stretch their lead to six on a pair of separate occasions, the second of which was a result of a Lexey Tobel post score that pushed the Maroon & Gold's deficit to 27-21 with 6:30 to go. Jasmine Covington connected on a mid-range jumper to spark the Rambler offense, as Loyola clawed back to within one, 27-26, after a Covington split at the free throw line. The Titans had a response for each push though, ultimately taking a 36-31 lead into the fourth quarter.
Loyola wasted no time in stepping on the gas in the final frame. An old-fashioned three-point play from Day helped spark a quarter-opening 11-0 run, capped off by another Day bucket, that fired the Ramblers in front, 42-36. Detroit Mercy would battle back to within three on a Tobel layup with only 1:36 remaining, but Loyola countered on its next trip down the floor with a
Kat Nolan jumper that reestablished a five-point lead, 48-43. A crucial defensive stop on the Titans' ensuing possession allowed the Ramblers to put the game away from the charity stripe en route to their first victory of the season.
Inside The Box Score
- Tonight marks Loyola's first home-opening win since an 82-61 triumph over Purdue Fort Wayne during the 2013-14 campaign.
- Day was fantastic this evening, leading all scorers with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. The freshman narrowly missed out on a double-double, collecting nine rebounds to go along with two assists and two blocks.
- O'Connor and Wallace added nine points apiece, with Wallace also coming away with a team-high four steals.
- Rice chipped in eight points, going 4-for-4 from the free throw line during the game's closing stages.
- The Ramblers outscored the Titans by a final margin of 21-7 in the fourth quarter, operating at a blistering 58% (7-of-12) from the field over the final 10 minutes.
- Loyola finished the night with a 40-32 advantage in rebounds. The Ramblers are now 47-18 (.723) in the last 65 games in which they have outrebounded their opponents.
Up Next
Loyola makes the short trip across town to the West Side on Saturday afternoon to take on UIC at 3:12 p.m.
