CHICAGO - The Loyola University Chicago women's basketball team is ramping up for a Super 16 meeting with George Washington in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) this Friday (March 27). Tip-off inside the Charles E. Smith Center is set for 5 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

QUICK HITS

• The Ramblers prepare for a familiar foe in the WNIT's Super 16 round in George Washington.
• With 33 games under their belt, the Ramblers have set a program record for most games in a single season.
• Loyola Chicago opened its first-ever WNIT appearance with a 58-54 victory over Norfolk State this past Saturday, the program's first postseason win since March 21, 2021.
• Brooklyn Vaughn led the Ramblers with 13 points and Alexus Mobley pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
• The Ramblers posted their most rebounds (46) since March 5, 2022, in the win.
• Loyola followed up that performance with a 62-56 win at Florida Gulf Coast, the winningest program in NCAA Division I history (.849).
• Mobley scored a season-high 27 points, including 17 in the second half, while Rosalie Mercille tied her career high with five 3-pointers and totaled a season-high 16 points.
• With the win, Loyola Chicago has won multiple postseason games in a single season for the first time ever.
• Head Coach Allison Guth collected her 50th win as Loyola's skipper versus the Eagles. She's one win away from 150 career victories.
• The Ramblers head to the DMV with two averaging double figures in scoring: Alex-Anne Bessette (11.4) and Mobley (11.6).
• Bessette was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Third Team and All-Rookie Team after a stellar freshman campaign. The plaudit marks Loyola's first-ever representative on the A-10 All-Rookie Team.

2025-26 RAMBLER BITES

• The Ramblers aim to improve on last season's 13-17 ledger as Head Coach Allison Guth enters her fourth season at the helm.
• Guth compiled a 34–57 record over her first three seasons at LUC and enters 2025–26 with a 133–131 career mark after beginning her head-coaching tenure at Yale.
• Loyola Chicago returns eight letterwinners from the 204-25 roster. Additionally, Guth added five newcomers during the offseason.
• Over the summer, former Ramblers Thoranna Kika Hodge-Carr (Valur Körfubolti) and Naelle Bernard (AS Aulnoye Basket) signed professional contracts overseas.
• Six Ramblers have turned professional under Head Coach Allison Guth.
• Since 2010, nine Ramblers have gone on to sign professional contracts: Hodge-Carr, Bernard, Sitori Tanin, Sam Galanopoulos, Emma Nolan, Sophia Nolan, Troy Hambric, Taylor Manuel, Bre Hampton-Bey, and Allison Day.

SCOUTING GEORGE WASHINGTON

• Head Coach Ganiyat Adeduntan is in her first season as head coach.
• GW is 17-17 overall and ended the A-10 slate 7-11.
• After falling to Dayton in the A-10 Championship, George Washington beat Bradley and Southern Indiana to earn its spot in the Super 16.
• Gabby Reynolds led the way versus Southern Indiana with 26 points.
• Reynolds paces the team in scoring with 14.5 points per game.
• As a team, GW averages 60.9 points per contest and shoots the ball at a 41 percent clip.

ALL-TIME AGAINST GEORGE WASHINGTON

• Loyola trails in its all-time series with George Washington, 2-5.
• Loyola previously beat the Revolutionaries this season, 53-48, at the Charles E. Smith Center on Jan. 17, 2026.
• Behind a then-season-high 19 points from Mobley and a dominant defensive fourth quarter, the Loyola Chicago women's basketball team rallied for the road win.
• Loyola Chicago trailed 38-35 entering the fourth quarter before outscoring the Revolutionaries, 18-10, over the final 10 minutes.
• Mercille scored 11 points off the bench, including a key 3-pointer late in the third quarter, while Alexa Kinas finished with three points and a career-high seven steals and two blocks.
• Loyola Chicago held George Washington to 40 percent shooting overall and 11.1-percent shooting from beyond the arc.

LAST TIME OUT

• Loyola Chicago overcame a one-point deficit entering the fourth quarter and pulled away late for a 62-56 win over Florida Gulf Coast on Monday night in the second round of the WNIT, advancing to the Super 16 for the first time after securing multiple postseason victories in a single season. The Ramblers (16-17) were led by Alexus Mobley, who scored a season-high 27 points, including 17 in the second half, while adding seven rebounds and five steals, and Rosalie Mercille, who finished with 16 points and tied her career high with five 3-pointers. Loyola forced 17 turnovers and converted them into 19 points, held FGCU to 39.6 percent shooting and 22.7 percent from 3-point range, and outscored the Eagles 19-12 in the fourth quarter after opening the period with a decisive 7-0 run.

ATLANTIC 10 PRESEASON POLL

• Richmond is the preseason favorite to win the 2025-26 Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball title, topping the coaches' poll for a second straight year. The Spiders return All-A-10 stars Maggie Doogan and Rachel Ullstrom after a 28-7 season and their first NCAA Tournament win.
• George Mason ranks second, followed by Davidson, Rhode Island, and Dayton. Saint Joseph's, VCU, Duquesne, Saint Louis, and George Washington complete the top 10. Fordham, La Salle, Loyola Chicago, and St. Bonaventure round out the poll.
• Doogan, Ullstrom, George Mason's Zahirah Walton and Kennedy Harris, and VCU's Mary-Anna Asare headline the Preseason All-Conference First Team.

RETURNING RAMBLERS

• Loyola Chicago returns eight from the 2024-25 roster: Yasmyn Palmer, Roisin Grandberry, Alexa Kinas, Audrey Deptula, Rosalie Mercille, Kendall Hendrix, Kira Chivers, and Brooklyn Vaughn.
• Key returners include senior point guard Kira Chivers who started 25 of 28 games in 2024–25, leading Loyola in steals per game (1.1) and ranking 16th in the A-10 in assists (2.9), with the league's 10th-best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3). She scored in double figures six times, highlighted by a career-high 17 points and five rebounds vs. Northwestern, and delivered a season-best seven assists at Eastern Illinois.
• Another key returner, junior guard Rosalie Mercille, appeared in 20 games in 2024–25, returning from injury to contribute nine points in the Senior Day win vs. Saint Louis. She posted double-digit scoring twice, including 11 points at Eastern Illinois, and matched a season-high four rebounds three times. Mercille also recorded three assists in three straight games early in the season.
• Point guard Alexa Kinas played in 28 games with five starts as a freshman in 2024–25, logging the most minutes among Loyola newcomers. She shot .443 from the field, finishing second on the team in FG percentage, and tied for second in steals (29). Kinas scored seven points in her debut, posted a season-high 15 points vs. Richmond, and grabbed a season-best six rebounds twice.

FRESH FACES

• Alex-Anne Bessette is a three-time All-Canadian and AmeriCup silver medalist who helped Team Canada to silver at the 2024 FIBA U18 Women's Americas Championship. The 6-foot-2 Quebec City native led her prep team to the 2025 OSBA title and earned Second Team All-Star honors. She played on the elite Kia Nurse EYBL circuit.
• Alexus Mobley arrives as a graduate transfer from Akron after two seasons with the Zips and two at Danville Community College. The Indianapolis native started 38 games at Akron, averaging 9.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. She recorded career highs of 30 points and 17 rebounds during the 2024-25 season.
• Daniella Matus is a 1,000-point scorer who averaged 12.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in her final season at Morris Catholic. She helped St. John Vianney win a fourth straight Shore Conference Tournament title and reach the NJSIAA semifinals. Matus earned Morris County Tournament MVP honors, All-Tournament recognition at the John Wall National Christmas Tournament, and multiple all-conference awards, including NJAC First Team. She starred for Team Sharp on the AAU circuit and was a 2025 McDonald's All American Game nominee.
• Nevaeh Dickman is a 6-foot power forward from Fishers, Ind., rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports and ranked No. 6 in Indiana. She earned multiple all-state honors, including IBCA Senior Large School All-State, and HCC First Team All-Conference recognition.
• Clara Djoko, a 6-foot forward from Entzheim, France, transfers from UC Irvine, where she appeared in 55 games over two seasons. She contributed across the stat sheet, highlighted by games with four rebounds at Cal State Bakersfield and three steals in consecutive contests as a freshman.
• Assistant Coach Jasmyne Fogle joins Loyola after roles at Quinnipiac, Putnam Science Academy, and Iona. At Quinnipiac, she led operations, travel, logistics, video, marketing, and student support for three seasons. She previously assisted with coaching, recruiting, and academics at Putnam Science Academy and served as a graduate assistant at Iona. Fogle played collegiately at Franklin Pierce and Post University, earning All-CACC honors in 2018 before completing graduate degrees from Post and Iona.
• Assistant Coach Alyssa Fisher returns to Loyola after beginning her coaching career at Dartmouth, where she helped mentor an All-Ivy performer. As a Rambler in 2023–24, she led the team in threes, free throws, and steals while averaging 13.5 points per game, earning a selection to the WBCA So You Want To Be A Coach program. Fisher previously earned dual bachelor's degrees at St. Francis Brooklyn and an MBA at Loyola.
• Assistant Coach Adam Call arrives from George Washington following a four-year stint that included multiple A-10 Championship wins and development of all-conference and all-defensive selections. His 17-year coaching career includes stops at Eastern Michigan, Stony Brook, Washington, Northwestern, TCU, and Oklahoma, where he contributed to several postseason runs. He holds degrees from Oklahoma and TCU.

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