Box Score

In Short…
Loyola University Chicago jumped out to an early lead before putting together another impressive fourth quarter to defeat Purdue Fort Wayne by a final score of 81-67 this afternoon before 1,203 fans inside Gentile Arena on "Field Trip Day with the Ramblers".  The victory, Loyola's fourth in its last five games, bumps the Ramblers to 4-2, while the Mastodons slide to 3-5.
 
Kate Achter's Thoughts…
"What a cool day. Over 1,000 Rogers Park students got to witness a comeback win.  It was a great atmosphere and the energy was just wild.  We very clearly fed off it.  Janae (Gonzales) had herself a day, and Ellie (Rice) had 19 points in the second half.  Just an incredible, gritty, comeback win for our group."
 
How It Happened
Loyola rode the hot hand of Janae Gonzales in the opening quarter to quickly race in front.  Gonzales would connect on all five of her attempts from the field in the opening frame, three of which came from beyond the three-point arc, to help stake Loyola to a 20-12 advantage with 2:16 remaining.  A De'Jour Young layup pulled the visitors back to within three, 20-17, but Maya Dunson connected on a mid-range jumper in the quarter's dying seconds to reestablish a five-point edge, 22-17.
 
Both teams struggled to gain separation during the second quarter.  Abby O'Connor's first three of the afternoon upped Loyola's lead to 27-22 before the Mastodon's battled back to even at 27-27 when Hannah Hess drilled a triple of her own at the 5:58 mark.  The Maroon & Gold would finish the half with a small flurry, with a Kat Nolan three highlighting a 7-2 spurt that sent Loyola into the locker room with a 38-33 lead.
 
Ellie Rice came out firing to open the second half, pouring in seven of Loyola's first nine points of the third quarter to stretch the margin to 47-35 and prompt a Purdue Fort Wayne timeout with 7:15 to go.  The Mastodons found their footing following the restart, closing the frame with an 18-5 run, capped off by a quarter-ending three from Young, to move in front, 53-52.
 
After an Anna Lappenkuper trey just over a minute into the fourth quarter gave Purdue Fort Wayne its largest lead of the day, 58-54, consecutive buckets from Tiara Wallace and Rice, respectively, knotted the score up at 58-58.  Young's conventional three-point play with 6:51 remaining pushed the Mastodons back on top, 61-58, but O'Connor would counter with back-to-back scores to give Loyola a lead it would never relinquish, 62-61, at the 5:51 mark.  Gonzales hit on two more attempts from distance, while Rice added 10 points in the game's final 4:55 as Loyola cruised to the final buzzer before an enthusiastic home crowd.
 
Inside The Box Score
- Loyola finished the afternoon at a blistering 61.7% (29-of-47) from the field, the top single-game shooting percentage of the Achter era and the sixth highest single-game mark in program history.  The Ramblers operated at a red-hot 71.4% clip (10-of-14) during the fourth quarter.
- Gonzales paced the Loyola attack with a game-high 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting, 16 of which came as part of a dominant opening frame. 
- Rice erupted for all of her season-high 19 points during the second half, connecting of seven of her 10 attempts from the field over the final 20 minutes of play.  The Austin, Texas product tied a career-high with five assists, sharing the team lead in the category with Wallace.
- O'Connor notched the first double-double of her collegiate career, chipping in 16 points to go along with a career-high 12 rebounds.
- Throughout the season's first six games, Loyola has outscored its opponents by a margin of 143-102 in the fourth quarter.
- Young led Purdue Fort Wayne with 18 points.
 
Up Next
Loyola ventures back out on the road at the start of the coming week when it battles Western Michigan on Monday evening.  Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.  (CT) from inside University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich.