CHICAGO (January 28, 2021) – After picking up a pair of wins on the road last week, Loyola is back in the friendly confines of Gentile Arena this weekend to open up a four-game homestand against Southern Illinois, January 30-31.  The Ramblers and Salukis will open up their two-game set on Saturday at 1 p.m., ahead of a 3 p.m. Sunday finale.

This weekend's series was originally scheduled for January 15-16, but was postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests among the Salukis' Tier 1 personnel.

LAST TIME OUT
Loyola split a pair of closely contested matchups on the road at Bradley last weekend, picking up a 71-66 win over the Braves last Friday before dropping a 57-55 decision the following day.  Maya Chandler was terrific for the Maroon & Gold, pouring in a career-best 16 points on Saturday as she averaged 15.0 points across the two matchups.  Sam Galanopoulos came off the bench to add a career-high 17 points in Friday's triumph.

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 limited to just a 31 percent clip on its own end of the floor as it dropped a 58-41 decision.

ATTACK DOGS
Southern Illinois, which dropped a 61-44 decision to Missouri State on Wednesday, enters its series with Loyola at 5-5 overall and 2-3 in Valley play.  Wednesday's tilt with the Lady Bears marked the Salukis' first action since January 9.

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 two-time All-MVC honoree, averages a team-high 13.4 points, a mark that ranks 11th in The Valley.  Brockmeyer pulls down a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game, in addition to 12.5 ppg, while McCallister has been red hot through the first five games of the Salukis' league slate, averaging 13.0 points, tops for any member of the Southern Illinois roster during the aforementioned stretch.

UP NEXT
Loyola is back home next weekend to host traditional Missouri Valley Conference power Drake, February 5-6.  Both matchups against the Bulldogs are set to tip-off at 6 p.m. inside Gentile Arena.