{"id":76127,"date":"2019-02-07T17:38:33","date_gmt":"2019-02-07T23:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=76127"},"modified":"2019-02-11T16:43:35","modified_gmt":"2019-02-11T22:43:35","slug":"ramblers-look-to-block-the-outside-noise-as-they-finish-off-tough-5-game-stretch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/ramblers-look-to-block-the-outside-noise-as-they-finish-off-tough-5-game-stretch\/","title":{"rendered":"Ramblers look to block the outside noise as they finish off tough 5 game stretch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greg Melo<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0In college sports, conference play is king. And for a young Loyola women\u2019s basketball team,\u00a0 Missouri Valley conference games have presented a mix of ups and downs.<\/p>\n

After a weekend split against Illinois State and Bradley, Loyola finds itself tied for the fifth spot in the Valley. With the top 6 seeds getting a bye in the conference tournament in March, the Ramblers appear to be in prime position.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet the true test will come this weekend, when they face off against two of the top three teams in the Valley: the University of Northern Iowa and Drake University – a team that has only lost one conference game since 2016. Third-year coach Kate Achter faces the challenge of keeping a relatively inexperienced squad on the level. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s most important [to our program] is that we climb,\u201d Achter said following their nail-biter 62-59 victory over Illinois State on Friday. \u201cEveryday we have to focus on the little things, and then the big picture takes care of itself.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Ramblers and Redbirds players in respective huddles during a deadball. (Emma Goodson\/Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Attention to detail and player development over the long run for the Ramblers has shown out in a few key categories The team is ranked 14 in the nation in free throw percentage (3 in the MVC), and sophomore forward Abby O\u2019Connor is tied for ninth in the NCAA at 91.7 percent from the charity stripe. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Ramblers are also second in the conference in both field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage, as well as number one in defensive rebounding, second in blocked shots, and fourth in assists. <\/span><\/p>\n

Since coming off a tough road trip at the end of January where they dropped back to back games against Southern Illinois and Missouri State, the Ramblers have tried to shift back into the\u00a0 identity that Achter has emphasized.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were on the road, we were in a little bit of a rut defensively and offensively,\u201d said sophomore guard Ellie Rice after the win over the Redbirds. \u201cI think this — we really came together. It gave us a lot of confidence moving forward into the rest of conference play.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These ebbs and flows of a season are not a rare obstacle for young teams like the Ramblers. Out of the 4,000 minutes played on the court so far by the Ramblers, 3,134 (roughly 78 percent) have been played by underclassman.<\/span><\/p>\n

Guard Tiara Wallace is the only upperclassman that has started every game for Loyola and she is flourishing in her role as the steady veteran and the coach\u2019s voice in the locker room and on the floor. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve grown a lot over the past three years that Coach K and I have been here,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cOf course, we\u2019re not complacent with where we are. We want to keep striving to be better. We\u2019re very picky on the things that we want to perfect. \u201c<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Loyola Ramblers players Abby O’Connor, Ellie Rice, Tiara Wallace, and Janae Gonzales celebrate after a close win over the Redbirds. (Emma Goodson\/Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the attention shifts to this weekend, and the team buckles down and hosts\u00a0 two tough games at home, Achter has the team unified and fostering an underdog mentality. And she has had no qualms in being straight with her players and the media about what the goal is in the now.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to get better.\u201d Achter said. \u201cWe want to believe that we have executed well [this season] and that we have met our goals each game. We want to put less of the focus on Northern and more of the focus on us. Don\u2019t get me wrong, Northern and Drake are incredible programs that we strive to compete against. But if we can\u2019t get ourselves right, then we can\u2019t compete against those teams.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ignoring the outside noise and stressing the details have proved to be the right mantra as the Ramblers find themselves in a prime position coming down the stretch of conference play. Now the question shifts to how far this identity can take them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo at Top: Ramblers freshman guard Janae Gonzales sizes up a jump shot on the Redbirds’ defense. (Emma Goodson\/Medill Reports)(Emma Goodson\/Medill Reports)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greg Melo Medill Reports \u00a0In college sports, conference play is king. And for a young Loyola women\u2019s basketball team,\u00a0 Missouri Valley conference games have presented a mix of ups and downs. After a weekend split against Illinois State and Bradley, Loyola finds itself tied for the fifth spot in the Valley. With the top 6 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":537,"featured_media":76133,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,4559],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-winter-2019"],"yoast_head":"\nRamblers look to block the outside noise as they finish off tough 5 game stretch - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/ramblers-look-to-block-the-outside-noise-as-they-finish-off-tough-5-game-stretch\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ramblers look to block the outside noise as they finish off tough 5 game stretch - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Greg Melo Medill Reports \u00a0In college sports, conference play is king. And for a young Loyola women\u2019s basketball team,\u00a0 Missouri Valley conference games have presented a mix of ups and downs. After a weekend split against Illinois State and Bradley, Loyola finds itself tied for the fifth spot in the Valley. 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