The Valley on ESPN vs. Valparaiso | Live Stats vs. Valparaiso | Loyola Game Notes | Valparaiso Game Notes
CHICAGO (January 4, 2019) - After a two-week break from action, Loyola University Chicago opens its 18-game Missouri Valley Conference slate on Sunday afternoon when it welcomes Valparaiso to Gentile Arena for a 1 p.m. tip-off.
The Maroon & Gold closed non-conference play with a final record of 6-5, the program's first winning non-conference campaign since 2011-12. Loyola will be looking to improve on a 1-4 (.200) mark in Valley openers since its move to the league prior to the 2013-14 academic year. The Ramblers' lone win to open an MVC campaign came back on January 3, 2016 in a 67-54 road triumph over Bradley.
LAST TIME OUT
Abby O'Connor poured in a career-high 31 points as Loyola dropped a 102-76 decision to No. 20/18 DePaul back on December 20 in Rogers Park. O'Connor was fantastic in the defeat, finishing 12-of-19 from the field and knocking down a career-best five triples. Fellow sophomore Ellie Rice also turned in a strong showing, adding 18 points, 16 of which came in the second half.
LOYOLA – VALPARAISO – THE SERIES
Loyola and Valparaiso will meet for the 27th time (VU leads, 21-5) in Sunday's MVC opener as part of an all-time series that dates back to a 98-85 Crusader victory on February 22, 1994 in Rogers Park. Valparaiso snapped a brief two-game Loyola winning streak in the series by picking up three wins over the Maroon & Gold last season, the last of which came in the opening round of the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. In the matchup between the two former Horizon League rivals last season at Gentile Arena, Valparaiso erased a 12-point third-quarter deficit to ultimately earn a 63-53 win over Loyola. Rice paced the Rambler attack with 17 points in the loss.
A NEW CRUSADE
Under the direction of first-year head coach Mary Evans, Valparaiso closed its non-conference slate at 4-8.
The Crusaders dropped a 79-72 decision to Bowling Green on December 21 at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Valparaiso, like Loyola, will be coming off over a two-week stretch without a regular-season contest. Evans' team cruised to an 85-59 win over IU Northwest in an exhibition game this past Monday.
Meredith Hamlet and Addison Stoller have formed a formidable one-two punch for Valparaiso early on in the year. Hamlet, who scored a game-high 19 points in the Crusaders' win in Chicago last season, averages a team-high 14.1 points, a mark that puts her 11th in the MVC. Stoller also averages in double figures (11.9 ppg) and has pulled down a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game. The Crusaders rank second in The Valley, behind only Drake, in three-point field goals made per game, knocking down an impressive 7.8 shots from distance.
UP NEXT
Loyola heads out on the road next weekend for a challenging two-game swing through the state of Iowa. A Friday evening tilt with perennial Valley powerhouse Drake opens the road trip at 6 p.m. on Friday (January 11) before Northern Iowa provides the opposition at 11:30 a.m. two days later (January 13).
