CHICAGO (January 13, 2021) – Following what will amount to nearly a two-week break from competition, Loyola is back on the hardwood this weekend as it hosts in-state foe Southern Illinois inside Gentile Arena. Both Friday and Saturday's matchups with the Salukis are scheduled to tip-off at 11 a.m.

Loyola's scheduled matchups last weekend at No. 25/25 Missouri State were postponed due to positive COVID-19 test results among Missouri State's Tier I personnel.

LAST TIME OUT
Loyola received contributions from across the board as it salvaged a split in its series with Indiana State, defeating the Sycamores by a final count of 59-52 on January 2 at Gentile Arena.  Allison Day and Anna Brown led the Ramblers with 12 points apiece, with Brown knocking down a trio of attempts from beyond the three-point arc in the third quarter, the last of which gave Loyola a lead it would not relinquish.

LOYOLA/SOUTHERN ILLINOIS – THE SERIES
Southern Illinois holds an 11-8 edge (.579) in the 19 previous meetings between the Ramblers and Salukis, all but four of which have come since Loyola joined the Missouri Valley Conference prior to the 2013-14 academic year.  The Salukis have prevailed in seven of the previous nine meetings, but both of Loyola's wins during that stretch have come at Gentile Arena. 

Loyola and Southern Illinois split two meetings last year, with each team protecting its home floor in a pair of defensive battles. In the meeting in Rogers Park on January 5, 2020, the Ramblers limited Southern Illinois to just under 38 percent from the field and forced 17 Saluki turnovers en route to a 51-49 win.  In the return matchup in Carbondale, Ill. on March 5, 2020, Loyola again held Southern Illinois below 38 percent efficiency, but was held to just a 31 percent clip on its own end of the floor as it dropped a 58-41 decision

ATTACK DOGS
Coming off a pair of losses on the road at Bradley this past weekend, Southern Illinois enters its series with Loyola at 5-4 overall and 2-2 in Valley play.  Three of the Salukis' four defeats have come away from home.  Under the direction of head coach Cindy Stein, the Salukis closed the 2019-20 season at 16-13 (8-10 MVC) and were tabbed sixth in the MVC Preseason Poll.

Stein's team is led by the trio of Makenzie Silvey, Abby Brockmeyer, and Payton McCallister. Silvey, a three-time All-MVC honoree, averages a team-high 14.1 points, a mark that ranks ninth in The Valley.  Brockmeyer pulls down a team-high 8.7 rebounds per game, in addition to 12.4 ppg, while McCallister has been red hot through the first four games of the Salukis' league slate, averaging 14.5 points.

UP NEXT
Loyola will make its first road trip outside the Chicagoland area next weekend when it heads downstate to Peoria, Ill. for a two-game set with Bradley, January 22-23.

Friday evening's matchup at Renaissance Coliseum is set for 6 p.m., with the weekend finale scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday.