CHICAGO (February 3, 2021) – Winners of five of its last six games, Loyola is back home this weekend when it welcomes perennial Missouri Valley Conference power Drake to Gentile Arena, February 5-6.  The Ramblers and Bulldogs will meet in a pair of 6 p.m. tip-offs in Rogers Park.

Currently sitting at 7-4 overall, Loyola's 5-2 start in Valley play matches the program's best seven-game start to an MVC slate.  With a victory in Friday's opener, the Ramblers can equal the program's best overall league start since joining The Valley prior to the start of the 2013-14 academic year.

LAST TIME OUT
Loyola turned in two sparkling defensive showings last weekend as it swept a two-game set from Southern Illinois. The Ramblers opened the weekend with a 53-46 win on Friday ahead of a 55-46 triumph the following day.  Bre Hampton-Bey poured in a team-high 23 points in Friday's win, the top individual scoring output by a Rambler this season. Ellie Rice provided the fireworks on Saturday, scoring a season-high 19 points to pace Loyola.

LOYOLA/DRAKE – THE SERIES
Drake owns a commanding 17-3 (.850) lead in 20 previous matchups with Loyola on the hardwood.  The Bulldogs have won each of the last 13 meetings between the two teams, a streak that dates back to a 70-64 win in Rogers Park on February 23, 2014. Loyola's lone win over Drake since joining The Valley came on January 24, 2014 when Troy Hambric poured in a team-high 23 points in a thrilling 75-69 triumph in Des Moines, Iowa.

When the Maroon & Gold visited the Knapp Center last season on February 2, 2020, Sam Galanopoulos finished with a season-best 13 points, but Drake jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half and never looked back, picking up an 80-52 victory.  In the return meeting at Gentile Arena on February 28, 2020, Allison Day came off the bench to score a career-high tying 20 points as Loyola battled all the way back from a 16-point third-quarter deficit, only to see Drake use a 9-0 run late in the fourth quarter to fend off the Ramblers' comeback and escape with a 83-75 win. 

BEWARE THE BITE OF THIS DOG
Drake rolls into The Windy City at 8-8 (.500) overall on the year and 6-3 (.667) in Missouri Valley Conference play.  Piloted by two-time MVC Coach of the Year Jennie Baranczyk, the Bulldogs were tabbed fourth in The Valley's Preseason Poll following a 2019-20 campaign in which they finished 22-8 (14-4), Baranczyk's sixth straight 20-plus win season.

Drake once again features one of the nation's top offensive attacks, ranking in the top 30 in all of Division I in assists per game (2nd; 20.9), scoring offense (24th; 78.9), and three-point field goals made per game (30th; 8.4).  Leading the way for the Bulldogs on the individual from has been Grace Berg, who averages a team-high 16.7 points, good enough for second overall in the MVC.  Maddie Monahan (13.7 ppg) and Kierra Collier (12.6 ppg) also score in double figures for Drake.

UP NEXT
Loyola opens up a four-game road swing next weekend against Evansville, January 12-13.  Both clashes between the Ramblers and Purple Aces are set for 6 p.m. tip-offs inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.