CHICAGO (December 3, 2022)
 
In Short…
Loyola University Chicago (3-6) overcame a 13-point deficit in Saturday's 57-54 win over Bradley (2-5) inside Gentile Arena. Sophia Nolan tied her season-best scoring total, finishing one rebound shy of a double-double (19 points/9 rebounds) while Sam Galanopoulos scored a season-high 15 points to lead the Ramblers.
 
How It Happened
Loyola opened the scoring with a layup by Sitori Tanin, which ended up as the only lead of the night for the Ramblers until 7:40 left in the game. Bradley got going early with a 13-2 run in the opening stanza until a Galanopoulos layup stopped the bleeding with Loyola trailing by eight after the first quarter, 16-8.
 
The offensive struggles continued for Loyola in the second period as the visiting Braves moved ahead 24-11 on a second-chance basket at the 5:45 mark. The Ramblers trimmed the deficit to seven on Maddie Scarborough's fastbreak layup to make the score 24-17 near the four-minute mark. But, Bradley remained out in front by double digits at halftime, 30-19, despite a solid Loyola defensive effort forcing 12 turnovers. The Braves were outshooting the Ramblers 50% (12-24) to 30.8% (8-26) going to the locker room.
 
Loyola caught momentum toward the end of the third quarter, as Nolan's second 3-pointer of the night cut the deficit to six, 40-34, at the three-minute mark. That sparked a run that spilled over to the fourth quarter after seven consecutive points were scored by Nolan. Then, another made 3-pointer from Galanopoulos gave Loyola the lead, 41-40, at 7:40 in the fourth period which capped a 10-0 run for the Ramblers.
 
Bradley would regain the lead as the two teams traded buckets down the stretch.
 
The Braves led by five, 48-43, on a fastbreak layup off a turnover, but the Ramblers would eventually get a key defensive stop by forcing a shot clock violation while trailing by only one point with under two minutes remaining. That set up a clutch three from Maya Chandler in the final minute for a 54-52 lead, and Loyola held on with free throws in the final seconds.
 
Inside The Box Score

• Loyola outscored Bradley 38-24 combined in the second half
• Loyola shot just 36.4% overall, but hit 50% from the field in the fourth quarter
• The Ramblers went 6 for 17 (35.3%) from three-point range
• The Braves shot 40% overall and were limited to 20% from three-point range
• Loyola made 11 of 13 (84.6%) attempts at the free throw line, including a 7-for-7 effort from Sophia Nolan
• Nolan reached double figures in scoring for the fifth time this season
• Galanopoulos scored double digits in back-to-back games for the first time this season, and finished with 10+ points for the third time overall
• Galanopoulos also notched a career-high three steals with four boards
• Chandler finished with nine points, five assists (tied career-high) and seven boards
• Loyola tied its season-low with 11 turnovers while forcing 16 takeaways
• Bradley was led by Daija Powell (14 pts/6 rebs) and Alex Rouse (14 pts)
• Bradley held the rebounding edge, 38-31

Up Next
Loyola remains home on Wednesday for the Red-Line Rivalry matchup with DePaul. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT at Gentile Arena.