CHICAGO (January 21, 2022)
In Short…
Allison Day scored a season-high 21 points as Loyola University Chicago rode another impressive defensive effort to a 68-54 win over Evansville (7-9, 1-4 MVC) this evening inside Gentile Arena. Tonight's win, which improves the Maroon & Gold to 11-7 overall (3-4 MVC), pushes the Ramblers to 7-1 in Rogers Park this season, matching the best start to a home campaign since 2009-10.
Head Coach Kate Achter's Thoughts…
"Really great bounce back effort from my team tonight. We talked about how important details were, especially against an Evansville team that's playing much better and very confidently. We wanted to come with a better defensive effort, spread the ball around, and have our usual suspects find some confidence. I thought our second half was outstanding. I love that they were able to finish it out and that I was able to get some players minutes late that typically don't get minutes."
How It Happened
Both teams came out firing from outside, with Day opening the scoring with a trey 24 seconds in to make it 3-0.
Janae Gonzales buried a triple of her own at the 4:35 mark, countering an Abby Feit three, to put Loyola back in front, 12-10. A traditional three-point play from
Maya Chandler pushed the margin to five, 15-10, but Evansville continued to battle, clawing back within one, 15-14 on a pair of Elly Morgan makes from the free throw line before a
Riley Blackwell layup in the closing minute of the quarter reestablished a three-point lead, 17-14.
Loyola attacked inside early on in the second quarter, as layups from Day and
Sam Galanopoulos stretched the gap to seven, 21-14.
Anna Brown provided a spark off the bench, finishing inside off a terrific feed from Chandler to stake the Ramblers to a 27-21 lead with five minutes to play. Despite being held to just two makes from the field during the second frame, Evansville hung around through its work at the charity stripe, where it went 13-for-15, as it chipped Loyola's lead to 35-31 at halftime.
Offense proved tough to come by at both ends early on in the third quarter. Following an Elly Morgan split at the line that pulled Evansville back within three, 39-36, with 4:24 to go, another Day bucket sparked a 15-3 surge for the Maroon & Gold over the final 3:18, which saw the gap balloon to 54-39.
Bre Hampton-Bey kept the Rambler attack moving right along in the fourth quarter, draining a long two 22 seconds in that stretched the lead to 56-37. A Chandler fast break jumper in the lane at the 2:00 mark upped the margin to 66-46 as Loyola coasted to the finish line.
Inside The Box Score
- Day was dominant, going 10-of-17 from the field and 1-of-2 from beyond the three-point arc en route to her 21-point, nine-rebound showing.
- Led by Day's efforts, Loyola finished with a season-high 48 points in the paint.
- Chandler scored in double figures for a third straight outing, adding 11 points (3-11 FGs, 5-5 FTs), seven rebounds, and two assists.
- Hampton-Bey rounded out a trio of Ramblers in double figures, putting up 10 points (4-10 FGs, 2-2 FTs), five rebounds, and three assists.
- Loyola turned in another suffocating defensive performance, limiting Evansville to 29 percent (15-for-51) from the field, marking the fourth time this season that the Ramblers have held an opponent under 30 percent efficiency.
- Feit (4-15 FGs, 1-6 3FGs) and Anna Newman (1-2 FGs, 7-10 FTs) led Evansville with nine points apiece. Feit, who entered the evening as the leading scorer in the Missouri Valley Conference, averaging just over 18 points per game, was held to her second lowest output of the season.
Up Next
Loyola continues its current homestand on Sunday when it welcomes Indiana State to Gentile Arena on Alumni Day. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. from Rogers Park.
