CHICAGO – Head Coach
Allison Guth of the Loyola University Chicago women's basketball team added four talented transfer student-athletes to the program's 2024-25 roster, as announced Tuesday. In addition to the signing class of six Guth signed in November, Loyola's squad is now 16 strong.
Naelle Bernard, a junior guard with Atlantic 10 experience, is joining Loyola after a stint with Duquesne. Emma Theodorsson, a sophomore guard, is making her way to Rogers Park from Bucknell. Jess Finney, a graduate student guard who played two seasons at San Diego, will attend LUC after starting her college journey at Washington. Rounding out the quartet is sophomore guard Rosalie Mercille who most recently played one season at Monmouth.
Bernard, who is originally from Paris, played two seasons with the Dukes after beginning her collegiate career at Salt Lake City Community College. In her first season with Duquesne, she started 23 of the 30 games she played in while averaging 9.4 points per game. She maintained a 39-percent clip from the field and made 38-percent of her shots from 3-point range in 2023-24.
This past season, she helped lead the Dukes to Atlantic 10 runners-up status and a first-round win in the WNIT over Monmouth. Through her two seasons with the Dukes, Bernard averaged 24.5 minutes, 1.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.5 steals. Likewise, she was 40-percent from the field and 37-percent from long range at Duquesne.
She's scored in double-figures 53 times through her collegiate career and tied her career-high of 23 points in Duquesne's win over St. Bonaventure on Jan. 11, 2023. She was eight-for-16 from the field and six-for-12 in that game.
"Nae (Naelle) is a fantastic addition to our program. Quite simply, Nae is a winner. Her experience winning over 40 games in her last two seasons of collegiate play in the A-10 will benefit our program immediately. Nae is a three-level scorer who plays with fantastic pace. We are eager to utilize her ability to create offensive scoring opportunities for her and her teammates with her decision-making ability. Nae has a phenomenal feel for the game and will help our team defend with integrity and make the most of every possession. We are thrilled to welcome Nae and the entire Bernard family to Rambler Nation."
Theodorsson, a six-foot-one guard hailing from Moon Township, Pa., wrapped her two seasons at Bucknell averaging 27.6 minutes, 4.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.3 blocks, 0.4 steals and 10.4 points per game.
In her first season at Bucknell, 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.
This past season, she earned Second Team All-Patriot League honors after appearing in 30 games, including 29 starts. Theodorsson ended the season seventh in points (13.2 pg) and 12th in rebounds (5.7 pg) in the Patriot League while scoring in double digits 22 times.
No stranger to the big stage, Theodorsson had the opportunity to compete the Icelandic National Team. Her squad played in multiple tournaments in Sweden, Romania, and Iceland, such as the Scandinavian Cup and the FIBA U20 Women's European Championship.
"Emma is an outstanding addition to our program. She brings a wealth of collegiate playing experience and will immediately impact us with her overall skill set as a tremendous basketball player. Emma is a talented player who impacts the game in a myriad of ways on both sides of the ball. We are eager to utilize her ability to create offensively at the rim and beyond the arc, while using her physicality and basketball IQ to rebound and defend in our system. Quite simply, Emma is a winner. Her experience leading her team and making an impact in the Patriot League will benefit our team greatly. We are thrilled to welcome Emma and the entire Theodorsoon family to Rambler Nation."
Finney played two seasons at San Diego after transferring from Washington at conclusion of the 2020-21 season where she played two seasons as well. She appeared in 50 games through her time at San Diego while averaging 15.2 minutes per contest.
This past season, Finney was third on the team in 3-point percentage as she cashed in 32-percent (26-for-81) of her shots from beyond the arc. Her 5.9 points per game ranked sixth on the team. One of her best performances came on March 2, 2024, at San Francisco. Finney scored a career-high 23 points after going eight-for-11 from the field, three-for-five from three and a perfect four-for-four at the line. She tied her career-high of two blocks in that game as well.
At the end of the campaign, she had the 23rd-most steals (1.1) and assists (2.0) per game in the West Coast Conference. Additionally, her 0.4 blocks per game ranked No. 24 in the league.
"Jess is an exciting addition to our program. She has had an impressive collegiate career thus far and will immediately impact us with her court vision, her basketball IQ, her knack for rebounding, and her ability to score the basketball. Jess is a skilled scoring guard who is an extremely talented facilitator. We are eager to utilize her ability to run our offense, create for her teammates, and defend with tenacity and competitiveness. We are jazzed that we can welcome Jess and the entire Finney family to Rambler Nation."
Mercille, who is originally from Quebec, Canada, averaged 16.8 minutes, 2.0 rebounds, and 6.4 points per game in her one season at Monmouth. She played in 31 games and started one while going 65-for-158 from the field (41-percent). Efficient from long range as well, Mercille cashed in 40-percent of her attempts from beyond the arc.
Strong on the glass, she racked up 63 rebounds, including a career-high six at N.C. A&T on Feb. 18. Four games later, she dropped a career-high 20 points in the team's win at Townson on March 7. In Postseason play, she helped her team to a first-round win in the WNIT over Buffalo before falling to Bernard's Duquesne squad.
Prior to her collegiate career, Mercille was a three-time member of Team Canada and contributed to the team's gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2022. Additionally, she was named the captain of Team Canada's U16 group and competed in the 2021 FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup
"Rosa (Rosalie) is a phenomenal addition to our program. She's had a solid collegiate career thus far and is eager to put it all to work here at Loyola. Rosalie is a skilled scoring guard who has a tremendous knack for putting the ball in the hoop from deep range. We are eager to utilize her ability to score it in a variety of ways, while also utilizing the way she values defending with integrity. Rosa is a competitor with a will to win and we are all eager for her to bring that mentality to our team. We are thrilled to welcome Rosa and the entire Mercille family to Rambler Nation."
