CHICAGO – Behind a record-setting crowd of 3,747, the Loyola University Chicago women's basketball team beat SIUE, 77-74, inside Gentile Arena Monday. Alyssa Fisher hit a buzzer-beater with less than five seconds to play to secure the win – the cherry on top of her season-high 26-point day. The win marked Loyola Chicago's fourth-straight.

"To be able to play in front of a packed crowd is absolutely incredible," said head Loyola Coach Allison Guth. "I think we gave [the fans] a really entertaining game. Both SIUE and our crew - the way that our teams competed on the floor - unbelievably grateful for the effort,"

How it Happened
For the third-straight game, Loyola Chicago (6-4) drained a trey to open scoring – this time, Fisher had the honor as the guard set the tone for her stellar day. The Ramblers built their first-quarter lead to 9-5 after Mallory Ramage knocked down a jumper in the paint, but SIUE (2-10) went on a 13-3 run to close the first frame and claimed the lead.

In the second quarter, Loyola Chicago battled back from an 11-point deficit. A jumper from Thoranna Kika Hodge-Carr at 7:09 followed by three points at the charity stripe and Sam Galanopoulos' jumper on the fast break cut SIUE's lead to 25-19. Another 7-0 run, capped by Sophia Nolan's layup before the half expired, made the score 34-30, SIUE.

With the Ramblers' defense limiting the Cougars to 28-percent (4-14) shooting from the floor in the third frame, Loyola outscored SIUE, 19-11, coming out of the locker room. After Emma Nolan nailed a 3-pointer at 5:24 to tie the game at 41-41, Hodge-Carr followed with a jumper in the paint to help LUC reclaim the advantage.

The fourth and final quarter was a back-and-forth scoring frenzy as both teams posted their most made field goals. It all came down to the final minute as SIUE, trailing 74-71, hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to knot the contest, 74-74. But Loyola took a timeout and drew up a beautiful play to Alyssa Fisher behind the arc. The Louisiana native drilled the shot from Galanopoulos and Loyola hung on to win it, 77-74.

Notes

• Loyola's shooting improved as the game progressed. The team was 25-percent from the field in the first quarter, 29-percent in the second, 38-percent in the third, and 63-percent in the fourth.
• Sitori Tanin brought down 11 rebounds and scored 11 points to record her third double-double of the season.
• Hodge-Carr scored 14 points and had a season-best six assists. She also grabbed a season-high eight rebounds.
• Galanopoulos scored 13 points and had a season-high six rebounds. She added eight assists, one shy of her career-high.
• Sophia Nolan nabbed a season-high three steals, tying her career-high. Her five points led the bench.
• The squad totaled 21 assists, its most since Nov. 24, 2021, when Loyola recorded 26 in its win over Saint Francis (IL).
• The team's 12 turnovers were its second lowest of the season.
• Loyola had five blocks in the win, its second most of the season.
• Loyola's 77 points were the most it has scored thus far in 2023-24.
• The Ramblers cashed in a season-high 20 offensive rebounds into 15 second chance points.

Up Next
Loyola Chicago will meet No. 4 Iowa for the first time ever this Thursday (Dec. 21) as the non-conference slate comes to an end. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. CT inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  

"We're gearing up to take the show on the road to Iowa. It's going to be an incredible experience for our players to play in front of a sold-out crowd, the biggest crowd that Loyola women's basketball has ever played in front of. I think we have a lot of work to do - to step back from this game and figure out how we're going to tighten up our defensive pressure. And I know that this is going to be, for us, a faceless opponent where we're thinking about Loyola, improving programmatically, and getting excited about an opportunity to go up against a national champion caliber program."