Women’s Basketball Falls 75-60 to DePaul in Latest Cross-town Matchup

The Loyola women’s basketball team fell to DePaul University 75-60 in their rendition of the Red Line Rivalry Nov. 12. Three Ramblers reached double-digits with graduate guard Naelle Bernard scoring 15, while graduate forward Sitori Tanin and third-year guard Kira Chivers recorded 13 and 12. 

On the other end of the court, DePaul’s starting backcourt pair of graduate forward Jorie Allen and redshirt third-year Meg Newman contributed 16 points each, while third-year guard Taylor Johnson-Matthews had 15 and first-year guard Angelina Smith had 13 points. 

Shutting down Allen was a major part of the Ramblers gameplan leading up to Tuesday night, and despite the scoreline — with half of her points coming from free throws — the plan was a success in the eyes of head coach Allison Guth.

“We knew this game was going to come down to controlling the controllables,” Guth said. “For us, I really liked our game plan in fronting Jorie Allen and limiting some of her touches.”

Tanin got her hand on the opening tipoff, which bounced into DePaul’s possession. The Blue Demons first possession ended in a steal by graduate guard Jess Finney, whose layup on the other end was unsuccessful.

Smith grabbed the defensive rebound for the Blue Demons, who eventually scored first with a layup from Newman. Chivers immediately took the ball down the court and hit a 3-pointer in response to give the Ramblers their first lead of the night.

After graduate guard Thoranna Kika Hodge-Carr missed a 3-pointer, DePaul quickly converted back-to-back layups by Allen and Johnson-Matthews to give themselves a 6-3 advantage. Hodge-Carr made up for the earlier miss by finishing a tough reverse layup as the shot-clock buzzer sounded.

A series of miscues by Ramblers in the rebound and passing departments allowed Newman to hit two consecutive layups in a short time span. Tanin drove in a layup to put the Ramblers back within three before a timeout was called.

DePaul suffered a missed shot and consequential shot clock violation in their next possession. On the following play, Hodge-Carr dislodged a rebound from Johnson-Matthews and moved the ball to second-year guard Rosalie Mercille for what looked like an open layup. Chasing her down was Allen, who smacked the ball out bounds.

Third-year guard and forward Emma Theodorsson was fouled and hit the second of two free throws. Allen continued her paint dominance by burning the defense for an easy bucket to make it 12-8.

With the exception of a lone free throw from Allen and a 3-pointer from Johnson-Matthews, the rest of the first quarter belonged to Bernard. Two free throws, a layup, a jumper and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in front of an electric Gentile Arena crowd led to a narrow 17-16 lead to end the first quarter.

Bernard attempted to continue her solo run at the start of the second quarter, but her reverse layup attempt was blocked back into play by Allen, where it made its way over to Mercille for a quick corner three.

Blue Demons second-year guard Grace Carstensen and Chivers exchanged three-pointers, while Allen shrugged off contact to finish a driving layup to bring the score to 23-21 in the Ramblers’ favor.

After a layup from Hodge-Carr rolled out of the net, pandemonium ensued on the court. Tanin fell to the ground after jostling with Allen, whose attempt to collect the ball ended with her stumbling and falling at center court. Two more Ramblers and a Blue Demon joined the scrum on the floor before Tanin took the ball back and sent it to Mercille for a high-arcing layup.

Allen, Carstensen and Smith combined for a 7-2 scoring run, with a layup from Tanin being the only opposition, to retake a 28-27 lead prior to a timeout. A minute later, Hodge-Carr and Smith exchanged two points each. 

Smith’s layup kicked off another extended scoring run, with an additional four points coming from Johnson-Matthews, two from Allen and another free throw by Smith. 

With just over a minute remaining in the first half, Theodorsson hit a pullup jumper outside the paint to bring the score to 37-31 in DePaul’s favor. Bernard almost made another buzzer-beating 3-pointer, but the ball bounced harmlessly off the rim. 

The third quarter proved detrimental to the Ramblers’ chances of victory, as they posted a sub-30 percent shooting percentage while DePaul kept a steady pace.

“We weren’t strong enough today, clicking on all cylinders on our offense in a really, really dismal third quarter,” Guth said. “When you have a six point differential and we come out in the third and that extends to 10, to 12, that’s a major problem. We’ve got to get better in the third.”

The Blue Demons scored 10 unanswered points and dominated the rebounds in the first four minutes before Bernard was eventually fouled and had a successful trip at the line to bring the score to 47-33.

In back-to-back possessions, Newman scored four points with a layup and a jumper to extend the distance. With three-and-a-half minutes left on the clock, the Ramblers mustered an 8-2 scoring run despite missed rebounds and numerous fouls but remained 12 points below at 53-41.

A single free throw from Johnson-Matthews kicked off fourth quarter action, as Tanin shook off defenders for a layup to put the Ramblers within 11. A 3-pointer from second-year Blue Demon guard Summer Lee led to a minute without scoring before Tanin was fouled by Allen and hit a single free throw.

Tanin’s defensive effort to block a Johnson-Matthews three fell short, Bernard and Lee exchanged two-point plays, Mercille drained a 3-pointer and Newman drove in a layup after a steal to bring the score to 64-49.

A minute before a timeout was called on the court, Chivers found herself on the opposite end of fouls. After hitting a layup through a foul, she sank the following free throw, but a possession later fouled Allen, who had a successful trip at the line.

Smith drove in another layup — “made us look silly” as Guth put it — and Theodorsson slipped into open space to get off a 3-pointer.

The Blue Demons hit five straight free throws, three from Allen and two from Lee, and neared a 20 point lead at 73-55. Chivers and Tanin combined for five points in response — Chivers with a reverse layup and lone free throw, and Tanin with two free throws.

Chivers’ second free throw attempt was collected by Smith, who drove up the length of the court and iced the game with a layup for the 75-60 final score.

The Ramblers posted a shooting clip just below 50%, and were heavily outrebounded by the Blue Demons 33-22. Another major concern for the team was their 23 turnovers, which DePaul converted for 27 points alone.

Guth lauded the student section as “absolutely excellent” during the game, but hoped the rivalry loss wouldn’t dissuade a return to Gentile.

“For a rivalry to be considered a rivalry, you have to have two great teams,” Guth said. “We’re very realistic to where DePaul has owned this matchup in the years. I think we had a real missed opportunity tonight. What was a little bit of a bummer, but the environment was electric. I hope those fans give us another shot.”

Loyola’s next opportunity comes during a travel weekend to Edwardsville, IL, where they’ll take on Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Nov. 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.