CHICAGO (March 11, 2020) – Three members of the Loyola University Chicago women's basketball team have earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors, it was announced by the league office on Wednesday.  Abby O'Connor (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph's) was named an Honorable Mention All-MVC selection, while Jala Johnson (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) and Sam Galanopoulos (Skokie, Ill./Niles West) both earned spots on The Valley's All-Freshman Team.
 
O'Connor averaged 12.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks across 29 appearances this season, leading the Ramblers in all three categories for the second time in as many years.  Now a two-time All-MVC honoree for her career, O'Connor has scored in double figures a team-best 20 times this season, surpassing the 20-point mark on a pair of separate occasions while also posting six double-doubles. 
 
On January 17, O'Connor became only the 25^th player in program history to surpass the 1,000-point mark for her career, achieving the milestone in a matchup with Bradley.  The South Bend, Ind. native joined former Rambler Troy Hambric (2010-14) as one of only two players to notch 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 100 blocks for her career.
 
Johnson has started in eight of her 24 appearances this season, adding 6.1 ppg and 2.2 rpg.  The Toledo, Ohio native burst on the scene in Loyola's season-opening win over Detroit Mercy (November 5), scoring 13 points, her first of six double-figure efforts in 2019-20.  Johnson went on to score a season-best 14 points in Loyola's matchup with then No. 16/16 DePaul (December 20).
 
Galanopoulos saw action in all 29 regular-season contests during her freshman campaign, chipping in 4.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, and 2.0 apg.  Out of Niles, Ill., Galanopoulos scored in double digits on four separate occasions, turning in 13-point showings against Chicago State (November 19) and Drake (February 2).  She flirted with only the second triple-double in program history against the Cougars, adding season-best marks in both rebounds (8) and assists (8).  Galanopoulos also played a key role in the Maroon & Gold's double-overtime road win over Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular season champion Kansas City (November 22), finishing with 10 points.
 
With the selection of both Galanopoulos and Johnson, Loyola has now had at least one representative on the MVC All-Freshman Team in each of the last three seasons.
 
Eighth-seeded Loyola begins play in the MVC Championship on Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. against Indiana State, the tournament's No. 9 seed, at TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Ill.