Tipping off
Riding a four-game win streak, the Loyola University Chicago women's basketball team ends its non-conference slate of action tomorrow (Dec. 21) as the team prepares to face No. 4 Iowa on the road. The first-ever meeting between the two programs will stream live on BTN+ Thursday at 5 p.m. CT inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Quick Hits

• The Ramblers are fresh off a buzzer-beating win over SIUE this past Monday on Field Trip Day. Alyssa Fisher drained a trey with four seconds left in regulation to propel Loyola to a 77-74 win in front of 3,747 people - a new attendance record at Gentile Arena for Loyola women's basketball.
• Fisher's 26 points broke her season-high and marked her sixth game in double-figures this year.
• Also cashing in on a great day was Sitori Tanin who brought down 11 rebounds and scored 11 points for her third double-double of the season.
• Thursday will be Loyola's first time playing a ranked foe since falling to No. 23/19 Missouri State Feb. 27, 2021, 64-50. The last time the 'Blers beat a ranked opponent was Dec. 21, 2015, when the Maroon and Gold downed No. 16/15 DePaul, 88-75, on the road.
• Loyola has played a top-5 opponent just once prior - the Ramblers fell, 107-61, to No. 4 Georgia on Dec. 1, 1990, on the road.
• Thursday will be a homecoming of sorts for Loyola Chicago assistant, Marsha Frese, who was named the state of Iowa's high school player of the year in 1990 and helped Cedar Rapids Washington HS to a state championship.
• Loyola recently logged its first-ever win over the Northwestern - a 73-68 win in Evanston on Nov. 29. It had lost the previous 25 meetings.
• Three Ramblers enter Monday averaging double-digit points: Sam Galanopoulos (12.6), Fisher (13.1), and Tanin (11.3).
• Nationally, the Ramblers are 72nd in assists per game (15.70) and second in the Atlantic 10 while Loyola's 19.60 turnovers forced per game rank 59th in the nation and third in the A-10.
• Kira Chivers paces the A10 in 3-PT field goal percentage, shooting 60-percent from deep. Close behind and in the fifth spot is Sam Galanopoulos who shoots the deep ball at a 45-percent clip.
• Galanopoulos' 5.0 assists per game ranks fourth in the league and Sitori Tanin's 1.6 bpg ranks fifth.
• Sharing the ball efficiently, Loyola is second in the conference in assists per game with 15.70 per game.

2023-24 Rambler bites

• Seven letterwinners return to the roster, including three starters. The Ramblers welcome six newcomers, including two freshman and four transfers.
• In addition to new players, Loyola added assistant coach Simon Harris and assistant coach Jenna Rubino-McCormick to the program in the off-season.
• Head coach Allison Guth is in her second season at the helm of Loyola. She enters her eighth year as a head coach after spending the first six seasons at Yale.

Scouting The Iowa Hawkeyes

• The 2022-23 NCAA runners-up have played their 2023-24 foes to an 11-1 overall record and a 1-0 mark in Big Ten play.
• Recently named the Sporting News' Co-Athlete of the Year, Caitlin Clark has lived up to the hype. The Player of the Year candidate logged Big Ten Player of the Week accolades for the fourth time this season this past Monday.
• The team leads the Big Ten from the floor, making 50-percent of their attempts.
• Clark's 30.2 ppg paces the nation. She's made 124 of the 258 field goals she's attempted.

All-Time Against Iowa

• Thursday will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.