CHICAGO – The Loyola University Chicago women's basketball team's fourth-quarter rally against Cleveland State fell short Sunday afternoon inside Gentile Arena. The Ramblers outscored the Vikings, 21-17, in the final frame, but fell, 74-66, as the final horn sounded.

"I really think we learned a lot about ourselves tonight as a team," said head Loyola coach Allison Guth. "Our focus going into this was how we were going to fight and play for one another. I'm really proud of our team's effort,"

With the loss, Loyola Chicago dropped to 1-2 while Cleveland State (1-1) earned its first win of the year.

How it Happened
Alyssa Fisher scored a team-high 20 points and made the first basket of the game, an unassisted 3-pointer one minute into the contest. Trailing 11-5 coming out of the first media timeout, Emma Nolan, drained a triple to cut the deficit to three points. Then, a five-point swing tied the game, 13-13, after a trey from Ali Berg and Mallory Ramage's layup. The Maroon and Gold held Cleveland State to zero made field goals in the final four minutes and 14 seconds of the first frame.

The 'Blers came within a pair at 6:27 in the second quarter thanks to Audrey Deptula's triple, but a Cleveland State run extended their lead back to eight with 1:57 to play in the half. The Ramblers drained a trio at the charity stripe to make the score 34-29 as the two teams headed to the lock room.

Coming out of the break, CSU took off on a 14-0 run to widen the gap to 19 points, but Kira Chivers, who made her first start of the season, and Fisher drilled two threes to stop the run. Then, Emma Nolan, who achieved a season-high eight points, sparked a quick 7-0 run to bring the deficit down to single digits at 51-42, Vikings.

The Ramblers kept the Vikings in check through the final quarter, limiting the visitors to their worst field goal percentage of the day (33 percent). That, in combination with Loyola being a perfect 9-9 at the line, helped the 'Blers get within four points (68-64) with one minute to go. The Vikings however ended the game on a 4-2 run to edge Loyola, 74-66.

"There's a lot to take away, in a positive way, from this game. I think you look at the punch we took in the third quarter and the battle that we had, and it was all because these guys believed in each other and what we were doing. We know that we aren't going to take a moral victory - we want to win, we want to earn wins. We have to do it by rebounding the basketball and putting the ball in the hoop at a higher percentage from the field."

Notes

• LUC had 14 first-quarter points, tying their season-high.
• Loyola went 11-27 (40 percent) from deep, setting a season-high.
• Loyola turned 19 CSU turnovers into 22 points.
• Loyola had 14 assists on 19 field goals.
• The Maroon and Gold were 17-23 (73 percent) at the line, setting a season-high for team-made free throws and free throws attempted.
• Kira Chivers set a new career high with at least one three in six-straight games.
• Sitori Tanin's seven made free throws are a new individual season-high total for the team.
• Tanin's six rebounds were a team-high and tied her season-high mark.
• Fisher went 6-11 from deep, setting her season-high 3-point total.
• Fisher's 20 points were a team-high, her season-high, and is the new season-high individual total for the team. It was her tenth career 20-point game (her first at Loyola).
• Sam Galanopoulos' nine assists were a game and career-high.

Up Next
The 'Blers are back in action this Thursday as they take on Bradley in Peoria. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT.