CHICAGO – In a night dedicated to breast cancer awareness with the annual Pink Game, the Loyola University Chicago women's basketball team fought hard after trailing by as many as 22 points but ultimately fell, 53-41, to George Washington on Wednesday night at Gentile Arena.

"I just want to congratulate GW on a good game," said Loyola Chicago Head Coach Allison Guth. "They definitely made some good adjustments from the first time we played them, when we got the win in D.C. Tonight was a tale of two halves for us—we couldn't throw the ball into the Michigan ocean. With the blizzard outside, it felt like we were as cold as the weather. We just couldn't find a way to score, and that was challenging. But I was proud of our fight in the third and fourth quarters. I really liked some of our matchup zone and how we deterred GW from scoring in those quarters, but we've just got to be better at putting the ball in the hoop."

How it Happened
Emma Theodorsson opened scoring at 8:24, converting a layup off a feed from Sitori Tanin after a George Washington turnover to give LUC an early 2-0 lead. However, it was the Ramblers' only advantage of the game. GW responded by outscoring Loyola 14-2 the rest of the quarter.

Naelle Bernard's layup to start the second quarter and Theodorsson's second-chance jumper at 5:10 were LUC's only points of the frame. George Washington stretched its lead to 20 as the halftime horn sounded.

The Ramblers came out of the locker room playing inspired basketball. After the Revolutionaries took their largest lead of the game (22 points) with two free throws to open the half, Loyola began a comeback with a quick 4-0 run from Bernard and Theodorsson. Alexa Kinas' layup to end the quarter trimmed the deficit to 17 (41-24), as Loyola outscored GW 16-13 in the period.

The Ramblers were lights out in the final quarter, allowing just one GW field goal while sinking six of their own. A 10-0 run, fueled by threes from Kira Chivers and Jess Finney, cut the visitors' lead to seven (43-36) with 3:59 to play. Moments later, Audrey Deptula drilled another triple to make it a six-point game (45-39), the closest it had been since the first quarter.

Despite the valiant effort, George Washington closed out the game at the charity stripe, converting eight free throws to seal a 53-41 win.

Notes

• Loyola Chicago led in points off turnovers (14-13), second-chance points (9-4), and bench scoring (26-6).
• After scoring just eight points in the first 20 minutes, the Ramblers outscored George Washington, 33-25, in the second half.
• Coming off the bench, Finney led Loyola in scoring with all 10 of her points coming in the second half. She also had a team-high six rebounds and three assists.
• Theodorsson was close behind with six points.

Up Next
The Ramblers are next in action this Saturday (Feb. 15) for a home meeting with Duquesne. Tip-off from Gentile Arena is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.