Box Score (PDF)
In Short…
Missouri State used an impressive final surge to hold off Loyola University Chicago's upset attempt this evening inside Gentile Arena, defeating the Ramblers by a final count of 69-58. The win, Missouri State's fourth in its last five games, sees the Lady Bears move to 15-10 (11-3 MVC), while the Ramblers fall to 5-19 (3-10 MVC).
How It Happened
Loyola struggled mightily on the offensive end early on, going scoreless for just over six minutes until
Kat Nolan's elbow jumper broke the drought and cut Missouri State's lead to 8-2. Following a three by Brice Calip that stretched the margin to 11-2, an
Ellie Rice triple preceded a pair of makes from distance by
Jessica Cerda as Loyola came charging back, trimming the visitors' lead to four, 14-10, at the end of the first quarter.
Rice opened the second frame with another trey that sliced the deficit to just one, 14-13, at the 9:02 mark. With the Missouri State lead sitting at 29-22 after a jumper from Alexa Willard,
Abby O'Connor drained her first three of the night before driving inside for two more to pull the Ramblers back to within two, 29-27. Liza Fruendt answered O'Connor's post score with a layup at the other end as Missouri State opened up a 35-29 edge heading into halftime.
Rice again looked to provide the spark to the Rambler offense coming out of the locker room as she buried another quarter-opening three to slice the Missouri State lead in half, 35-32. Consecutive O'Connor makes knotted the score up at 36 all with 7:35 to play. Missouri State would stretch its lead back out to six on a pair of separate occasions but Loyola refused to go away, clawing back to within three, 51-48, heading into the fourth quarter.
An old-fashioned three-point play by O'Connor proved to be the catalyst for a spurt that saw Loyola score the first five points of the final frame. Nolan's layup at the 8:39 mark gave the Ramblers their first lead of the game, 53-51. Four straight makes at the charity stripe by Aubrey Buckley pushed Missouri State back in front, 55-53. Rice connected on her fourth three of the evening with 6:20 remaining to chip the deficit back down to one, 57-56, but the Lady Bears would go on to hold Loyola scoreless for the following 6:07 as part of a game-ending 18-5 run that proved to be the difference in a 69-58 victory.
Inside The Box Score
- Cerda knocked down four threes as she finished with 16 points to lead a trio of Ramblers in double figures. She also came down with four rebounds and dished out a career-high five assists.
- Rice, the reigning MVC Newcomer of the Week, matched Cerda with four triples of her own as part of a 14-point, five-rebound, three-assist performance, while O'Connor added 14 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds and two blocks.
- Nolan provided Loyola with a lift of the bench, finishing a perfect 4-of-4 from the field as she chipped in eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a block in a season-high 25 minutes of action.
- Led by Cerda's five helpers, Loyola closed the game with 18 assists, finishing just four shy of its season-high in the category.
- Missouri State finished with a sizeable advantage in the turnover margin (+16), turning 21 Rambler miscues into 24 points.
- Buckley and Willard each scored 19 points to pace the Lady Bears. Loyola held Fruendt, the Preseason MVC Player of the Year who came in averaging a Valley-best 16.4 points per game, to just 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
Up Next
Loyola wraps up its current homestand on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. when it takes on Southern Illinois in its annual Play4Kay game. The contest against the Salukis will also feature as part of the "Battle for Illinois" rivalry series.
