CHICAGO - The Loyola University Chicago women's basketball team makes its return to Gentile Arena after a two-game road trip last week. The Ramblers play host to VCU this Wednesday (Jan. 8) at 6 p.m. CT with the game streaming live on ESPN+. Sam Brief (play by play) and former Rambler basketball standout, Nick DiNardi (commentary), will call the game.

QUICK HITS

• Riding the momentum of six wins in their last eight games, the Ramblers aim to extend their success as they welcome VCU to Gentile Arena.
• The Ramblers are fresh off a 67-63 road win at George Washington this past Sunday as the team's league record improved to 2-2.
• Thoranna Kika Hodge-Carr scored a team and season-high 15 points. She was 9-of-10 (90-percent) at the charity stripe.
• Loyola Chicago is searching for its first-ever win over the Rams. The two teams have met twice prior to Wednesday.
• The Maroon and Gold own the sixth-best field goal percentage in the conference with a 42-percent clip. Meanwhile, VCU's 40-percent clip ranks 12th in the league.
• Putting an emphasis on protecting the rock, Loyola holds the third-best turnover margin in the Atlantic 10 (2.07). The Maroon and Gold average 17.5 per game, while its foes average 19.6.
• Kira Chivers continues to be one of the best assist-makers in the league, ranking ninth in assists per game (3.5).
• As a team, Loyola averages 15.80 assists per game, ranking No. 3 in the A-10 and No. 70 in the nation.
• Sitori Tanin, who's three games removed from a 20 point (season-high) and nine rebound performance against Evansville, has 14 total blocks to rank eighth in the league.
• Tanin recently eclipsed 1,000 career points in Loyola's league opener vs. La Salle on Dec. 3.
• Following Wednesday, the Ramblers host Fordham on Saturday, Jan. 11, inside Gentile. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. CT.

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 VCU RAMS

• Head Coach Beth O'Boyle holds a 178-142 (.556) overall record in 11 seasons at VCU.
• The Rams are 7-8 overall this season and own a 1-2 mark in league play.
• Most recently, VCU suffered a 69-49 defeat versus Dayton at home this past Sunday.
• VCU's sole league win occurred the game prior when the Rams took down Duquesne, 65-63.
• Mary-Anna Asare leads the team and ranks eighth in the conference in scoring with 15.7 points per game. As a team, VCU has a 40-percent field goal percentage.
• Mykel Parham leads VCU on the glass with 9.35 rebounds per game. The team is outrebounding its foes by 4.1 rebounds per game.

ALL-TIME AGAINST VCU

• Loyola trails in its all-time series with VCU, 0-2.
• VCU pulled out a 52-36 win over VCU last season on Jan. 13, 2024, at Gentile Arena.
• The Ramblers' bench produced 24 points while VCU's scored 14.
• Coming off the bench, Kira Chivers scored a team-high eight points while adding two assists and one steal.
• The Rams' 52 points were the second-least the team procured during the 2023-24 season. 
• This season marks the first home-and-home series between the two squads. Loyola will visit VCU on Feb. 26. 

LAST TIME OUT

• Loyola notched its 10th win of the season behind a 67-63 triumph over George Washington Sunday afternoon on the road. Four Ramblers scored in double figures, including a season-high 15 points from Thoranna Kika Hodge-Carr, to fuel the road victory.

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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