Loyola Chicago Women’s Basketball falls to Southern Illinois 64-41

Sports, Winter 2019

Loyola Chicago Women’s Basketball falls to Southern Illinois 64-41

February 23, 2019

By Emma Goodson
Medill Reports

Ramblers Women’s Basketball of Loyola Chicago couldn’t catch up to the Southern Illinois Salukis Friday night at Joseph J. Gentile Arena. The game loss moved the team to 6-8 in conference play with only four games remaining before the Missouri Valley State tournament.

Rambler Abby O’Connor and Saluki Nicole Martin fight to win the tip-off. (Emma Goodson / Medill Reports)

Abby O’Connor jumps for a layup making her third score of the night with about 7minutes left in the first quarter. (Emma Goodson / Medill Reports)

Rambler sophomore Ellie Rice makes a layup shot, scoring her first points of the night with less than 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter. (Emma Goodson / Medill Reports)

Junior Jazmine Covington takes a breath before shooting a free throw shot giving the Ramblers a 14-11 lead with a minute left in the first. (Emma Goodson / Medill Reports)

Rambler junior Tiara Wallace catches the rebound from teammate Abby O’Connor’s missed 3-point shot in the second quarter. (Emma Goodson / Medill Reports)

Sophomore Kailyn Strawbridge attempts a 2-point jumper with about six minutes left in the third quarter. Strawbridge finished with two rebounds and one assist for the Ramblers. (Emma Goodson / Medill Reports)

Senior Citiana Negatu makes a layup to cut Southern Illinois’ lead to 7points with 5 minutes left in the third quarter. Negatu finished with six points and one assist on the night. (Emma Goodson / Medill Reports)

Ellie Rice, Citiana Negatu and Maya Dunson help Abby O’Connor get up after a foul on Saluki Payton McCallister in the third quarter. (Emma Goodson / Medill Reports)

Ellie Rice makes both free throw shots with less than 6 minutes left in the game, though the Salukis still held the lead 48-32. Rice finished with 9 points and three assists for the Ramblers. (Emma Goodson / Medill Reports)

Coach Kate Achter talks with the Ramblers during the final timeout of the game. The Ramblers scored 15 points in the fourth, not enough to top the Salukis, who held on to the lead for nearly 25 minutes of the game. (Emma Goodson / Medill Reports)

The Ramblers started off strong in the first quarter but quickly lost momentum going into halftime of their 64-41 loss to the Salukis. The team hit only 31 percent of field goal attempts and 27 percent of three-point attempts, compared to the Salukis at 42 percent and 46 percent, respectively.

“Not the result that we wanted. I just didn’t think we played well,” Ramblers Coach Kate Achter said. “Case in point – we went 5 of 13 from the free throw line and only had six assists.”

Loyola Chicago sophomore Abby O’Connor energized the rather slow Ramblers play throughout the game, finishing with 17 total points and shooting 50 percent from the three-point line.

“We messed around with a lot of different lineups today, but at the end of the day, we play 14 conference games, we should be comfortable and today, I just thought we under-performed,” Achter said.

Photo at top: Rambler Abby O’Connor makes a layup for Loyola Chicago against Southern Illinois. (Emma Goodson/MEDILL)