Women’s Basketball Earns First Home Win Versus Eastern Illinois

The Loyola women’s basketball team secured their first home win of the season against Eastern Illinois University 58-44 at Gentile Arena Dec. 2.

Loyola’s effort was led by graduate guard Alyssa Fisher who had 16 points, followed closely by fourth-year forward Thoranna Kika Hodge-Carr with 12 points. On the other end of the court, third-year guard Miah Monahan put up 16 points for the Panthers.

Eastern Illinois scored the first two points of the game after fourth-year forward Sitori Tanin grabbed the opening tip-off for the Ramblers but was unable to drive in a layup on their first possession.

Both teams were called for a double-dribble violation before graduate guard Sam Galanopoulos buried a three-pointer. In the following three minutes scoring came from Fisher and Eastern Illinois’ third-year forward Macy McGlone, with Fisher scoring eight points and McGlone accounting for six to bring the score to 11-8.

Fisher also provided several assists dishing the rock to graduate forward Ali Berg for a jump shot and second-year guard Kira Chivers for another three-pointer, while McGlone provided another layup for the Panthers to keep them in range.

The remaining two minutes of the quarter belonged to Loyola as the Ramblers converted three layups — two from graduate forward Emma Nolan and one from Hodge-Carr. McGlone scored another layup to bring the score to 22-12, in favor of Loyola.

McGlone’s layup was her 10th and final points of the night as she was held scoreless in the second half. Head coach Allison Guth said the team’s defensive gameplan involved limiting her effectiveness, which was “key” to their win.

Shooting struggles plagued the Ramblers early in the second quarter as Eastern Illinois registered the only points going into an official timeout, bringing them within two of the Ramblers at 22-20. 

Loyola finally broke through when Galanopoulos found Hodge-Carr with a bounce pass for a quick layup. Both teams were unable to put together another solid offensive possession over the next 90 seconds until Fisher drained a three pointer to put the Ramblers up by seven.

Monahan continued to drive Eastern Illinois’ attack, scoring six points with a three-pointer, layup and a free throw while graduate forward Sophia Nolan hit a three-pointer to keep the Ramblers on top.

Just under a minute remaining in the quarter, the Panthers scored another three points, but Tanin converted a layup with 10 seconds left as the first half ended with a 32-29 Loyola lead.

Both Fisher and Guth said the stagnant offensive effort in the second quarter was a result of the team’s inconsistent “one more” offense — which consists of ideal pre-assist passes — combined with low percentage shots.

Scoring was low in the third quarter for both squads. Berg started off sinking a single freethrow. Eastern Illinois scored the next four points before Hodge-Carr dipped and spun into the paint for another layup.

Neither team was able to score over a two minute stretch until Tanin converted one free throw after taking contact. Both teams underwent another scoreless two minute stretch until the Panthers scored two free throws in two attempts. 

Chivers drained a wide open three and Monohan immediately responded with a layup. A minute later both teams scored three points each before Hodge-Carr closed out the quarter with a defensive rebound, dribbled the full length of the court and drove into the paint with a layup for a 44-40 score.

Tannin started the fourth by sinking a pair of free throws on Loyola’s first offensive possession, before Monahan responded with a pair of her own a minute later. After both teams failed to capitalize on consecutive offensive possessions, Hogde-Carr converted a jumper from just outside the paint before Monahan responded with another two points — the Panther’s final points of the night.

Loyola put up 10 points before the final buzzer and created several crucial defensive plays to close out the game. Tanin, Hodge-Carr and Fisher all helped secure the win, with Fisher draining a lightly contested three-pointer to end the game 58-44.

Loyola converted 22 of 60 shot attempts, with a 34.8% clip from 23 three-point attempts. They were heavily outrebounded 45 to 32 but registered 17 assists, 9 steals and 4 blocks, better than Eastern Illinois in each category. They also displayed more ball protection, limiting themselves to 12 turnovers compared to the Panthers’ 24. 

Guth said while the team didn’t show their full offensive power, she was happy to walk away with the win.

“We have not won in Gentile since October,” Guth said. “We take pride in presenting ourselves in a different way in here, so I’m glad we got the dub. Looking forward to representing in Gentile from here on out.”

Featured image by Aidan Cahill | The Phoenix