CHICAGO - The Loyola University Chicago women's basketball team makes its second trip to the DMW of 2025 as it takes on George Mason in Fairfax. Tip-off from the 10,000-seat EagleBank Arena is set for 6 p.m.  CT with the game streaming live on ESPN+. 

QUICK HITS

• The Ramblers hope to erase the memory of two-straight losses with their trip to Virgina.
• Last time out, Loyola Chicago suffered a 68-53 setback to Fordham during the program's Crohn's Disease Cause Game this past Saturday at Gentile Arena.
• The 'Blers were upended by Fordham's 45-percent clip from the field while Loyola shot 37-percent.
• Emma Theodorsson led the way and tied her season-high of 15 points for the second-straight game. She's scored in double figures in five-straight games for the Maroon and Gold.
• The former Bucknell transfer leads the team and ranks third in the conference in free throw percentage with a .872 clip at the charity stripe. 
• Naelle Bernard eclipsed 30 3-pointers this season after sinking two versus the Rams. Bernard ranks No. 14 in the Atlantic 10 for 3-pointers made with 1.8 per game.
• Kira Chivers, who's back in the Ramblers' starting five after a brief injury break, has a nack for getting her teammates the ball. The Chicago native averages 3.5 assists per game which leads the team and ranks her eighth in the league.
• Meanwhile, Chivers' 1.4 assist/turnover ratio is the ninth-best mark in the A-10.
• Sitori Tanin has been heating up on the defensive end of the court, posting two or more blocks in Loyola's past three games. She averages 1.1 blocks per game, putting her third in the conference.
• Notably, Tanin eclipsed 1,000 career points in Loyola's league opener vs. La Salle on Dec. 3.
• Following Wednesday, the Ramblers' game at GMU, Loyola heads south for a meeting with Saint Louis on Saturday, Jan. 18.

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 GEORGE MASON PATRIOTS

• Head Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis has an overall record of 62-45 (.579) in four seasons at George Mason.
• With a 13-3 overall mark and a 3-2 record in A-10 play, the Patriots are off to a hot start in 2024-25.
• After starting 11-1 and 1-0 in the league, George Mason ranked as high as No. 40 in the NET.
• Recently though, losses to Saint Joseph's and Richmond set the team back to No. 50 in the most recent rankings.
• Red-hot from beyond the arc, GMU's 37-percent clip is the second-best mark in the conference.
• Aggressive on the glass as well, GMU's 39.8 ranks them second in the A-10. 
• Kennedy Harris' 15.7 points per game leads the team and puts her ninth in the league's scoring leaders.

ALL-TIME AGAINST GEORGE MASON

• Loyola trails in its all-time series with the Patriots, 2-0.
• Wednesday marks Loyola's first-ever trip to George Mason as the previous two meetings occurred in Chicago.
• In the most recent meeting, Loyola fell, 61-52, to GMU on Feb. 3, 2024, at Gentile.
• Loyola outscored George Mason by six in the second half but couldn't overcome its slow start.
• Loyola Chicago shot the ball at a 43-percent clip (20-for-47) while holding George Mason to 38-percent (21-for-56).
• Additionally, the 'Blers outrebounded the Patriots, 36-30.
• Thoranna Kika Hodge-Carr, who was one-of-four Ramblers in double figures, scored 11 points.

LAST TIME OUT

• Loyola lost a 68-53 decision to Fordham at Gentile Arena Saturday afternoon. The Ramblers were led by Emma Theodorsson's 15 points which matched her season-high for the second-straight game. However, Fordham's 45-percent clip from the field – its highest in the last three games – overpowered the Maroon and Gold.

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. 

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