CHICAGO - The Loyola University Chicago women's basketball team travels to St. Louis for a primetime tilt with the Saint Louis Billikens. Tip-off from Chaifetz Arena is set for 7 p.m. with the game streaming live on ESPN+. Colin Suhre will call the play by play.

QUICK HITS

• The Ramblers aim to return to the win column on Saturday, coming off a three-game skid with losses to VCU, Fordham, and George Mason.
• In their most recent defeat at George Mason, the team was led by Thoranna Kika Hodge-Carr, who scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Hodge-Carr also made two free throws, grabbed a rebound, and recorded a steal.
• Another bright spot was Alexa Kinas, who led Loyola's bench with eight points, tying her career-high. The true freshman also pulled down six rebounds—five of which came in the second quarter—matching her career best. Loyola's bench has scored in double figures in six of its last seven games.
• Overall, Loyola shot 14-of-56 (25-percent) from the floor, marking its second-lowest outing of the season.
• Despite recent offensive struggles, Loyola boasts one of the better defenses in the Atlantic 10. Opponents average just 60.8 points per game against the Ramblers, the seventh-best mark in the conference. Additionally, Loyola's 1.61 turnover margin ranks third in the A-10.
• Emma Theodorsson—who leads the team in scoring with 9.5 points per game—is one of the league's most accurate free throw shooters. Her 88-percent clip at the charity stripe ranks No. 3 in the A-10. She been perfect at the line in seven games for Loyola this season, including a 7-of-7 performance in LUC's win over Kentucky State. Notably, Loyola's 27 made free throws in that game are tied for the most of any team in the A-10 thus far. 
• Following Saturday's contest, the Ramblers will host Richmond on Thursday, Jan. 23. Tip-off at Gentile Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

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 SAINT LOUIS BILLIKENS

• Head Coach Rebecca Tillett, who's 46-47 (.495) in three seasons at SLU, has guided the Billikens to a 7-11 overall record and a 1-4 mark in league play in 2024-25.
• Four Billikens average double figures entering the game with Peyton Kennedy's 14.5 leading the team and ranking No. 11 in the conference. 
• Tierra Simon leads SLU on the glass and ranks second in the A-10 with 10.5 rebounds per game.
• Saint Louis is coming off a narrow 64-63 win over George Washington at home this past Wednesday (Jan. 15).
• Mya Glanton led three Billikens in double figures, scoring 17 off the bench. She also gathered eight rebounds to near a double-double.

ALL-TIME AGAINST SAINT LOUIS

• Loyola is even, 2-2, in its series with Saint Louis since joining the Atlantic 10.
• In the all-time series, Loyola trails, 8-14.
• Notably, the Ramblers' first-ever A-10 win came over the Billikens on Dec. 28, 2022, at SLU.
• Last season, the two teams split the home-and-home series with each team winning on its home floor.
• In the most recent meeting on Feb. 14, 2024, SLU pulled out a 77-68 win over Loyola Chicago at home.
• Sitori Tanin notched her sixth double-double of the season and Alyssa Fisher poured in 23 points, but the Ramblers couldn't overcome Saint Louis' strong second quarter.

LAST TIME OUT
Loyola was up upended, 69-39, by George Mason on the road Wednesday night. The Ramblers suffered from the host's 45-percent field goal clip while LUC was 25-percent from the floor.

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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