Box Score

In Short…
Jessica Cerda and Ellie Rice both reached double figures in scoring but it wasn't enough as ninth-seeded Loyola University Chicago fell, 63-46, to eighth-seeded Valparaiso in an opening-round game of the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.  Tonight's result from the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Ill. sees the Ramblers wrap up the season with a final record of 7-23 (5-13 MVC), a five-win improvement from 2016-17.
 
How It Happened
Katie Salmon finished inside to put Loyola on the board with four minutes gone, trimming Valparaiso's lead to 5-2.  A layup by Rice would again pull to the Ramblers to within three, 10-7, before buckets from Nicole Konieczny and Meredith Hamlet stretched the Crusaders' advantage to 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Loyola rattled off the first five points of the second frame to trim its deficit to just two, 14-12, at the 8:05 mark.  Valparaiso stretched its lead to nine on a pair of separate occasions but a Rice triple with 3:20 remaining in the first half helped Loyola stay within striking distance as it trailed by a count of 27-21 at halftime.
 
Cerda knocked down her first two threes of the night in rapid succession early on the third quarter as Loyola cut Valparaiso's lead back down to six, 35-29, near the midway point of the frame.  Meredith Hamlet answered back for the Crusaders with two treys of her own as the deficit grew to 14, 45-31, on a layup by Dani Franklin.  The Ramblers finished the third quarter with a surge, cutting the margin to 46-37.
 
Franklin helped put away any hopes of a Loyola comeback with a torrid start to the fourth quarter that saw her score six straight points as part of a backbreaking 12-0 run that gave Valparaiso its largest lead of the night, 58-37.  Tiara Wallace broke the Ramblers' scoreless drought with a driving score with 4:21 to play but the Crusaders would cruise to the final buzzer, booking a spot in Friday's quarterfinals.   
 
Inside The Box Score
- Cerda closed her collegiate career with a team-best 11 points.  Rice wrapped up a strong freshman campaign with a 10-point, four-rebound effort off the bench.
- Salmon, who also saw her time with the Ramblers come to an end this evening, chipped in nine points.
- Kat Nolan and Abby O'Connor each pulled in a game-high 10 rebounds.
- Franklin, a First Team All-MVC selection, led all scorers with 24 points for Valparaiso.
 
Up Next
Loyola is set to return nine letterwinners and will welcome a trio of talented newcomers when the Ramblers open the 2018-19 season in November.