CHICAGO – Loyola Chicago was upended 85-45 by Richmond Thursday night at Gentile Arena. Alexa Kinas was a bright spot with 15 points, five steals, and five rebounds—setting career-highs in both scoring and steals.

"I want to start by giving credit to Richmond," said Loyola Chicago Head Coach Allison Guth. "If you're a basketball fan or a coach who loves this game, you must acknowledge Richmond, Aaron Roussell, his staff, and the incredible women he's brought together. Richmond plays the game the way it's meant to be played—beautiful basketball. The way they share the ball, their unselfishness, and the way they score is just incredible. On the flip side, I want to assure Rambler Nation that we respected Richmond's 3-point shooting coming into this game. We had a game plan to close out and disrupt their threes, but we simply didn't execute it as we intended."

How it Happened
In the first quarter, the Ramblers (11-9, 3-6 Atlantic 10) found production from Naelle Bernard who hit a pair of 3-pointers to give the Maroon and Gold a lift. Richmond (16-5, 7-1 Atlantic 10) though, who started the game 9-of-12 (75-percent) from the floor and 3-of-6 (50-percent) from deep, held a 23-8 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.  

Loyola Chicago's defense slowed the Spiders in the second quarter, forcing 12 Richmond turnovers before halftime. On the other end of the court, Bernard and Kinas drained back-to-back threes at the halfway point of the frame to cut Loyola's deficit to 15 points (31-16). After Bernard's three, Kinas took charge, scoring the remainder of Loyola's points on a perfect 3-of-3 clip.

Despite their efforts, Loyola Chicago trailed Richmond, 43-24, at the half.

Kira Chivers' 3-pointer to start the second half sent Loyola on a 7-3 run early in the quarter. After Kinas sunk two at the charity stripe, the freshman forced a turnover on the ensuing inbound and scored a quick layup to cap the run. Later, at the midway point of the quarter, Bernard's fourth three and Thoranna Kika Hodge-Carr's driving layup off a UR turnover cut the deficit to 14 points (50-36).   

In the fourth quarter, Richmond's high-octane offense procured 29 points while Loyola scored seven. As the final horn sounded, the Ramblers fell, 85-45.

Notes

• Bernard is seven points away from 200 on the season after scoring 14 tonight.  
• Theodorsson is five points away from 200 on the season after posting two tonight.
• The Ramblers forced 19 UR turnovers and turned them into 18 points.
• LUC gathered 14 steals. 
• Theodorsson led the team with seven rebounds.  
• Kinas notched a career-high 15 points and five steals on 6-of-8 shooting. 

Up Next
The Ramblers are next in action this Sunday (Jan. 26) at Rhode Island. Tip-off is set for noon CT on ESPN+.