CHICAGO (January 26, 2022) – Loyola University Chicago (11-7, 3-4 MVC) goes after a sweep of its abbreviated two-game homestand and looks to climb to the .500 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play when it welcomes Valparaiso to Gentile Arena for a 6 p.m. tip-off on Friday evening.

Winners of seven of their first eight games at home this season, Loyola is off to its best start in Rogers Park since 2009-10 and, with a win over the Beacons, could match the program's best start to a home campaign since 1985-86.

LAST TIME OUT
Loyola held visiting Evansville to 29 percent from the field and forced 16 Purple Aces turnovers as it prevailed by a final count of 68-54 last Friday in Rogers Park.  Allison Day poured in a season-high 21 points in the win, leading a group of three Ramblers in double figures that also included Maya Chandler (11 points) and Bre Hampton-Bey (10 points).  Loyola's scheduled weekend finale with Indiana State was postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocol issues with the Indiana State program.  The Ramblers will now host the Sycamores on Tuesday, February 15 at 5 p.m.

LOYOLA/VALPARAISO – THE SERIES
Friday's matchup marks the 33rd installment of the rivalry between Loyola and Valparaiso on the hardwood.  The Beacons hold a 25-7 (.781) lead in the all-time series, with 12 of those matchups coming when the two programs were members of the Horizon League from 2007-13. Valparaiso owns a 7-2 (.778) edge since it joined The Valley prior to the 2017-18 academic year.

Loyola and Valparaiso each picked up a win on the opposing team's home floor last season, with the Ramblers prevailing, 53-36, at the Athletics-Recreation Center on January 19, 2021 before a Shay Frederick layup in the closing seconds proved to be the difference in a 57-55 Beacons' victory in the return matchup in Rogers Park on February 24, 2021.

SHINING LIGHT
After starting the 2021-22 season with nine straight defeats, Valparaiso has won six of its last 10 games to run its record to 6-13 overall and 4-4 in Missouri Valley Conference play.

The Beacons rebounded from an 85-65 setback to Indiana State last Friday by erasing an early 14-point deficit en route to a 74-62 win over Evansville on Sunday. Olivia Brown paced Valparaiso in the victory, pouring in a game-high 21 points.

Fourth-year head coach Mary Evans' team has been led by the trio of Shay Frederick, Carie Weinman, and Grace White.  A First Team All-Valley selection last season, Frederick sits atop the Beacons' charts in scoring (11.4 ppg), assists (4.7 apg), and three-point field goals made per game (1.8).  Weinman (11.0 ppg) and White (10.8 ppg) also average in double figures, with White pulling down a team-best 6.0 rebounds per outing for a Valparaiso team that ranks at the bottom of the MVC in rebounding margin (-9.9).

UP NEXT
Loyola begins the second half of Missouri Valley Conference play in Iowa next weekend, where it will battle Northern Iowa (February 4) and Drake (February 6).