CHICAGO - The Loyola University Chicago women's basketball team rides a three-game win streak into its meeting with St. Bonaventure at Gentile Arena this Saturday (Dec. 29). Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. CT with the game streaming live on ESPN+. Scott Sudikoff (play by play) and former Rambler basketball student-athlete, Nick DiNardi (commentary), will call the action.

QUICK HITS

• The 'Blers ended the non-conference slate with a three-game win streak, their longest of the season thus far.
• The win streak was capped with a 70-57 win over Evansville at Gentile Arena on Dec. 21.
• Loyola Chicago's 70 total points tied the team's third-most in a single game this season.
• The 'Blers outrebounded Evansville, 36-29. Loyola's +7 rebound differential was its largest since outrebounding Kentucky State by eight in the season-opener.
• Loyola extended its win streak to 12-straight vs. its former Missouri Valley Conference foes.
• Loyola Chicago has been taking care of the ball, recording 17 or fewer turnovers in each of their last four games. The squad averages 17.5 per game, the third-fewest in the conference.
• Through LUC's first six games, the Ramblers were averaging 19.0 turnovers per game. 
• On the other end of the floor, Loyola forces 19.9 turnovers per game, the 59th-most in the nation.
• The Maroon and Gold own the fifth-best field goal percentage in the Atlantic 10 with a 42-percent clip. Meanwhile, St. Bonaventure's 37-percent clip ranks 14th in the league.
• Kira Chivers (missed last two games due to injury) continues to be one of the best assist-makers in the league, ranking ninth in assists per game (3.6).
• Sitori Tanin, who's coming off a 20 point (season-high) and nine rebound performance against Evansville, has 10 total blocks to rank ninth in the A-10.
• She recently eclipsed 1,000 career points in Loyola's league opener vs. La Salle on Dec. 3.
• Following Sunday, Loyola travels to Dayton on Thursday, Jan. 2, to ring in the New Year.

RAMBLER BITES

• Five letterwinners return to the roster, including two starters. The Ramblers welcome 10 newcomers, including six freshman and four transfers.
• Head coach Allison Guth is in her third season at the helm of Loyola. 2024-25 is her ninth year as a head coach after spending the first six seasons at Yale.
• Loyola Chicago's nine-win improvement from 2022-23 to 2023-24 was the second best turnaround in the Atlantic 10.
• The Ramblers named returners Sitori Tanin, Thoranna Kika Hodge-Carr, and Kira Chivers team captains for the 2024-25 season.
• A trio of 2023-24 Ramblers inked professional contracts overseas this past summer: Emma Nolan (Bad Homburg, Germany), Sophia Nolan (Dillingen Diamonds, Germany), and Sam Galanopoulos (Esperides Kallitheas, Greece). There are now seven former Ramblers who have played pro basketball.

SCOUTING THE ST. BONAVENTURE BONNIES

• Head Coach Jim Crowley is in his 18th season guiding St. Bonaventure. He holds a 266-264 (.502) with the Bonnies.
• This season, St. Bonaventure is 4-7 overall and has yet to play an A-10 game.
• Most recently, the Bonnies lost at Robert Morris, 65-41, on Dec. 21. Zoe Shaw led the Bonnies with 16 points to go along with eight rebounds.
• Dani Haskell leads the Bonnies with 13.8 points per game, the 13th-best mark in the conference.
• Isabellah Middleton also averages double-figure scoring with 10.3 points per game.
• Caitlin Frost, who was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week on Dec. 16, is third on the team with 9.2 points per game.
• Likewise, Zoe Shaw raked in the honor on Dec. 23 after averaging 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 37.0 minutes per contest over their last two games.
• On the glass, the Bonnies have a rebounding deficit of -6.5.

ALL-TIME AGAINST ST. BONAVENTURE

• Since Loyola joined the A-10 in 2022, the two teams have met three times prior to Sunday.
• Loyola trails in the all-time series, 1-3.
• The Ramblers split its home-and-home series with the Bonnies last season, but had the final say in a 78-50 win at home on Jan. 20, 2024.
• Sam Galanopoulos eclipsed 1,000 career points in the win after scoring 16 in the win.
• Her 16 points were her 42nd-career double digit scoring game and her 11th of the season.
• In the first-ever meeting, the 'Blers Loyola forced 24 St. Bonaventure turnovers, including 11 in the second quarter and 14 in the first half – all 2022-23 season highs.

LAST TIME OUT
Loyola ended its non-conference slate with a 70-57 win over Evansville last Saturday afternoon at Gentile Arena. Tanin led all scorers with a season-high 20 points while also pulling down nine rebounds, nearing a second-straight double-double.

ATLANTIC 10 PRESEASON POLL
The defending champion Richmond Spiders were voted as the Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball 2024-25 season favorite in the league's annual Preseason Poll. Saint Joseph's was chosen second in the poll with 211 points and four first place votes. After a record setting 2023-24 where they went 15-3 in the Atlantic 10 and won 23 games, George Mason, with 188 votes, rounded out the top-3.

RETURNING RAMBLERS

• Back for another season is graduate student Sitori Tanin, Loyola's 6-foot-2 force in the paint. Tanin racked up 45 blocks (1.5 per game) last season to lead the team and rank No. 4 in the A-10. She posted at least one block in 23 games, including a career-high five vs. Saint Joseph's on Jan. 31.
• Graduate student guard Thoranna Kika Hodge-Carr is ready to pick up where she left off in 2023-24. The Keflavik, Iceland, native averaged 5.6 points per game last season to rank fifth on the team. Likewise, she tallied 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game to rank third and fourth on the team, respectively.
• Kira Chivers, who averaged 19.0 minutes and 3.5 points per game to rank sixth and seventh on the team, respectively, is looking to make noise this season. The Chicago native made 33-of-96 attempts from the field for a 34-percent clip. Additionally, she was 19-of-46 (41-percent) from deep.
• Between Chivers, Tanin, and Hodge-Carr, Loyola Chicago returns 562 points.
• Also back and looking to take a step this season are Destiny Jackson and Audrey Deptula.

FRESH FACES

• Guth signed 10 newcomers to her 2024-25 roster this past offseason. In terms of freshman, Yasmyn Palmer, a 6-foot-2 forward from Southfield, Mich., will help the Maroon and Gold in the post. She earned All-Conference, All-Catholic, and Detroit Free Press All-Area accolades playing for Cranbrook Kingswood.
• Roisin Grandberry, who's originally from Arlington Heights, Ill., will also help in the paint as a 6-foot-3 forward. Believed to be Loyola's highest-rated recruit ever, Grandberry was tabbed No. 74 in the 2024 espnW HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings (No. 16 forward). Additionally, the freshman was ranked No. 6 in the Prep Girls Hoops Illinois class of 2024.
• Alexa Kinas, a 5-foot-8 guard, was a tri-sport student-athlete at Kaukauna High School (Wisconsin). The freshman racked up 20-plus All-Conference awards and 12 varsity letters playing basketball, golf, track, and cross country at Kaukauna.
• Coming from Werribee, Australia, Holly Dolny stands as a 5-foot-8 guard. Dolny played club basketball for Wyndham Basketball under Gerard Hillier in Werribee and competed with Recruiting Boost, an Australian travel team, before coming to Rogers Park.
• Two-time MHSAA DI State Champion Kendall Hendrix earned All-League honors and All-Academic plaudits at West Bloomfield (Michigan) before joining the Maroon and Gold. Hendrix was also named a 2024 McDonald's All American Games Nominee her senior season.
• Rounding out LUC's freshman class is Brooklyn Vaughn, a native of Maumee, Ohio. The 6-foot-0 forward was named to the DII All-Ohio First Team in 2022-23 and Second Team in 2023-24. Vaughn collected District 7 Player of the Year, TRAC Player of the Year, and TRAC First Team accolades at Central Catholic.
• As for Loyola's incoming transfers, Guth scouted the country for talent that would make an immediate impact on the team. Rosalie Mercille, who transferred to Loyola after playing for Monmouth last season, averaged 16.8 minutes, 2.0 rebounds, and 6.4 points per game in 2023-24.
• Emma Theodorsson is a junior guard/forward who played two seasons at Bucknell. She averaged 27.6 minutes, 4.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.3 blocks, 0.4 steals and 10.4 points per game through those two seasons. Theodorsson was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week twice and raked in Patriot League All-Rookie Team honors after averaging 7.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game her freshman year.
• Jess Finney, a senior shooting guard who brings a wealth of skill to Loyola's wing, played one season at Washington and two at San Diego before joining the Ramblers. The Phoenix native was third on the team (San Diego) last season in 3-point percentage as she cashed in 32-percent (26-for-81) of her shots from beyond the arc.
• The Ramblers' final transfer is Naelle Bernard, a former standout guard from Duquesne. A native of Paris, Bernard started 23 of the 30 games she played during the 2023-24 season. Likewise, she averaged 9.4 points per game, shooting 39-percent from the field and 38-percent from 3-point range.
• In addition to student-athletes, Guth added Assistant Coach Mai-Loni Henson and Director of Basketball Operations, George Buaku, to the Ramblers' team.
• Henson previously coached one season at Colorado College, helping the Tigers achieve their first 20-win season in 40 years and an appearance in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Championship Game. 
• Buaku comes to Rogers Park after serving as the Director of Player Development and Basketball Analytics for Sixth Man San Diego since 2020, a nonprofit basketball organization. Buaku has also worked as an Associate Analyst with HD Intelligence, offering strategic insights through opponent scouting, postgame analysis, and transfer portal management.

BUY TICKETS NOW!
Catch every women's basketball game at Gentile Arena with a season ticket package! Season ticket options include reserved courtside seating for $180/seat and general admission seating for $81/seat. Single-game tickets are $10/each.

Courtside season tickets are the only reserved seats available. Courtside seats are located across from the team benches in front of Sections 108 and 110. The online system will automatically place you in the best courtside seats available. Please contact the Loyola ticket office at (773) 508-9653 to discuss specific seat locations. Click here to purchase. 

SOCIAL BUZZ
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