WILMINGTON, Del. (March 1, 2023)
 
In Short…
Making its Atlantic 10 Championship debut, No. 15 seed Loyola fell 58-57 to No. 10 seed Duquesne in heartbreaking fashion during first-round action at the Chase Fieldhouse. Sitori Tanin recorded a career-high 20 points with nine rebounds and five steals, while Maya Chandler scored 18 to lead the Ramblers. Loyola wraps up the season with an overall record of 6-24.
 
How it Happened
Loyola stormed back from a 16-point halftime deficit after trailing 35-19 as Duquesne knocked down seven treys in the opening half. The Dukes led 20-7 after the first quarter and the lead swelled to as much as 20 in the second period.
 
But the Ramblers battled back, building a furious 11-1 run to open the third quarter behind Maya Chandler. The junior guard sparked the rally with seven consecutive points out of the break including a trey on the opening possession. Tanin added back-to-back buckets as the Ramblers started 5 of 6 from the field, forcing a Duquesne timeout with 7:05 left in the quarter.
 
Loyola would end up outscoring Duquesne 17-7 in the third period, shooting 53% (8-15) from the field after going 23% (7-31) overall in the first half. A fastbreak three from Kira Chivers and another Tanin layup pulled the Ramblers within two at 40-38 with under two minutes, before trailing by four entering the final quarter.
 
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Dukes extended their lead back out to nine at 52-43 but the Ramblers had another run left in them.
 
Chandler and Tanin came up huge again on the offensive end, bringing Loyola back with another 11-2 spurt over the next four-plus minutes. Chandler completed a traditional three-point play to even the score for the first time all game at 54-54 with 2:42 remaining.
 
In the final minute, Loyola had possession down three and Chandler calmly knocked down a pull-up elbow jumper to make the score 58-57 with 22 seconds left. After Duquesne missed a layup on the other end, the Ramblers got a last shot attempt for the win but came up just short.
 
Chivers finished with seven points, three rebounds and two steals, while Sam Galanopoulos had four points along with three points each from Julia Hoefling and Sophia Nolan. Anna Brown grabbed seven boards with three assists.
 
Duquesne's Precious Johnson led four Dukes in double digits with 14 points and 13 boards.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Tanin logged her first 20-point outing and averaged 14.3 points over the final nine contests
• Chandler recorded her team-leading 17th game in double figures
• Loyola didn't allow a made 3-pointer in the second half
• Outscored an opponent in the third quarter for the first time in 10 games
• Loyola had its second-largest positive turnover margin of the season (7-18)
• Loyola went 10 for 16 (62.5%) at the free throw line, while Duquesne made one on just two attempts