CHICAGO (November 16, 2022)
 
In Short…
Maya Chandler scored a game-high 20 points and Sitori Tanin registered her first career double-double as Loyola (1-2) battled in a hard-fought setback against Virginia (4-0) in Wednesday's home opener. The Cavaliers pulled out the narrow victory with a 68-62 final score at Gentile Arena.
 
How It Happened
Loyola led for three quarters after an early 7-0 run got the Ramblers going with an impressive response that followed Virginia's opening basket of the game. Sophia Nolan splashed a 3-pointer to get the Ramblers on the board and another trey from Kira Chivers gave Loyola a 17-12 lead with 2:31 in the first quarter. Chandler drilled a three in the final seconds, which put Loyola up 22-17. The Ramblers hit 4 of 6 from three-point range in the opening period of play.
 
In the second quarter, Loyola moved ahead by as much as seven points following back-to-back buckets from Nolan and Anna Brown. A pair of Nolan free throws at the 4:19 mark gave the Ramblers a 28-21 advantage. Then, Chandler poured in seven consecutive points including a buzzer-beating three to lift Loyola ahead by six at the halftime break, 35-29. The Ramblers outshot the Cavaliers 40% to 31% across the first 20 minutes, while outscoring the visitors 11-5 on points off turnovers.
 
The Ramblers stayed aggressive and physical out of the break, running its lead to eight on a Sam Galanopoulos driving layup, which put Loyola ahead 38-31 early in the third quarter. Loyola would remain out in front, leading 47-41 at the media timeout, but the Cavs climbed back after the stoppage with a 7-0 spurt to claim their first lead since the start of the game. However, Chivers gave the Ramblers the lead right back on an impressive driving layup to her left, with Loyola going back in front 49-48 to end the third. UVA's Taylor Valladay led the visitors with 10 points in the stanza.
 
Chandler opened the final quarter with a driving layup, giving Loyola a three-point advantage at 51-48. But Virginia clamped down defensively and strung together a pivotal 10-0 run to take a 58-51 lead into the under-five media timeout. Brown buried a three near the four-minute mark to cut the deficit down to three, 58-55, but that was as close as Loyola would get the rest of the way. The Ramblers were outrebounded by a combined 19-9 margin over the final two quarters and surrendered 11 points off 12 turnovers. Tanin scored nine of her 11 points in the fourth quarter.
 
Inside The Box Score

• Loyola outscored Virginia in the first two quarters (22-17, 13-12) while the Cavs outscored the Ramblers over the final two frames (19-14, 20-13).
• Loyola dished out a season-high 16 assists on a season-high 24 made shots.
• The Ramblers hit six 3-pointers for the third straight outing, while limiting UVA to 0 for 10 from beyond the arc.
• Loyola prevented an opponent from making a 3-pointer for the second straight home game, dating back to last season's finale against Missouri State (0-13).
• Chandler finished one point shy of her career-best, while reaching double figures for the third consecutive outing. She shot 7 of 10 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers, four boards and three assists.
• Tannin grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and recorded her first career double-double with 11 points. She also added a team-high four assists.
• Making her first collegiate start, Sophia Nolan contributed her best outing of the young season with a career-high 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting, along with two assists.
• Chivers chipped in five points and team-high four assists, while Brown tallied seven points.
• Mallory Ramage notched her first collegiate points by knocking down a 3-pointer in the first quarter.
• UVA held the glass advantage, 36-24.
• UVA's Mir McLean led the visitors with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

Up Next
Loyola travels to Eastern Illinois for a 2 p.m. tipoff Sunday afternoon, before returning home to host Miami (FL) on Tuesday (6 p.m.).