McCloskey-Bax’s Return Ends in 86-42 Rambler Rout of North Central

Loyola women’s basketball opened their season with an 86-42 exhibition win against North Central College. Cardinals head coach Maggie McCloskey-Bax returned to Gentile Arena for the first time as an opposing coach after playing at Loyola from 2006-2010, where she was elected captain three years in a row. 

McCloskey-Bax spoke after the game on her relationship with head coach Allison Guth, who was an assistant at Loyola during her first two years.

“She was the best player’s coach,” McCloskey said. “She was super supportive, knew if I was having a bad day, she was like ‘Hey, let’s go take a walk down on the lake.’ She was a really good ear as an assistant coach. She recruited me, so she was super welcoming in that process, which I appreciated and what drew me here.”

After winning the opening tip, second-year forward Brooklyn Vaughn was aggressive early in the paint, putting up a close miss and fighting aggressively for an offensive rebound. Cardinals second-year guard Ameli Sanchez scored the first points of the game on a jumper before a floater from second-year guard Alexa Kinas found the bottom of the net. 

The Ramblers upped their defensive intensity early, running a full-court press against the Cardinals. Redshirt third-year Clara Djoko’s drive to the basket gave Loyola its first lead at 4-2. A post move and layup by North Central’s third-year center Biz Daly led to a tie.

Loyola kicked off a 15-0 run starting with third-year guard Rosalie Mercille catching a cross-court pass and missing a three before grabbing her own rebound and drawing a foul on the ensuing drive to the rim. Mercille knocked down both free throws to make it 6-4. 

First-year forward Nevaeh Dickman missed a shot but found the rebound and drove in a layup. Dickman scored another field goal with a floater before third-year guard Audrey Deptula stole possession and scored. 

Djoko connected on an inside feed to Dickman, leading to an easy lay-in to make it 14-4. Following another defensive stop, Deptula knocked down the first Loyola three of the game. After a back-court violation, fourth-year guard Kira Chivers caught the inbound before hitting a spin move on her way inside for an easy two. 

Strong defense from the Cardinals kept the Ramblers from getting inside the paint as Mercille missed an off-balance three to end the first quarter at 19-6.

Vaughn opened up the second quarter with a layup. Sanchez got North Central their first bucket of the quarter with a drive toward the net. Kinas snagged an offensive rebound, but her shot was blocked by North Central’s third-year guard Jocelyn Trotter. 

Chivers made a second-chance three before stealing North Central’s possession. She fed it to Deptula for an easy layup. 

A three by second-year Cardinal guard Dolly Smith cut it to 28-13. The Ramblers’ offense went cold from there after missed jumpers from Dickman and Chivers. A missed three from second-year guard Kendall Hendrix led to North Central adding two layups, clipping the Loyola lead to 28-17.

A block from Hendrix ended the run as she ran cross court before passing the ball to Kinas, who found Dickman on the fast break. A shooting foul on Dickman resulted in no points for North Central after second-year forward Alaya Redditt missed both free throws. 

Hendrix assisted Deptula on a layup before stealing the Cardinals’ possession twice in a row — the first ending with a Mercille layup and the second ending with a layup of her own.

After being fouled by Smith, Kinas made her first attempt at the line. Her second fell short and Hendrix grabbed the rebound, sending it to Deptula who made a 3-pointer. The Ramblers got another possession before the clock ran out, but Hendrix missed a corner three to end the half at 40-20. 

Mercille opened the second half with a quick three via an off-ball screen and pass from Chivers. A Kinas turnover didn’t last long as Djoko stole the ball back before Kinas found Mercille in the corner for another three. 

A layup from Daly was matched by Djoko, finding the bottom of the basket. Chivers was fouled on a driving layup attempt and made at the line.

A give-and-go off a North Central turnover gave Kinas another easy layup to make it 51-22. The Cardinals countered with a three from first-year guard Kaylie Conklin before a missed three from Hendrix gave North Central possession, where Vaughn picked up her third foul.

Kinas scored two consecutive baskets with a pull-up jumper and a fastbreak layup, forcing the Cardinals to call a timeout, down 58-25

Loyola added on to their lead off a Deptula 3-pointer for her third of the game. Dickman blocked an inside shot that led to a floater from Palmer in the paint. 

Hendrix picked up an offensive rebound and found Dickman, who sank a three. The Cardinals’ second-year guard Natalie Doyle and Loyola first-year guard Daniella Matus made offsetting layups before a foul on Hendrix led to a trip to the line for Sanchez. 

A foul on Djoko led to another trip to the free throw line, where Daly hit one of two. Vaughn caught a pass from Hendrix and hit a turn-around jumper to end the third quarter with a 67-31 lead.

A minute-long drought ended in a Djoko lay-in. Deptula followed on the next possession with her fourth and final three of the game in only five attempts, giving her a game-high 18 points.

Guth spoke on the growth she’s seen from Deptula, who’s now in her third year at Loyola.

“I’m proud of [Deptula] cause she’s one of those people who has bought into the culture from day one, and that’s not easy to do,” Guth said. “Her commitment to being part of this, and hey, now she’s sitting next to me as the leading scorer in that first game. It’s like I knew this was going to be a future she had within our program.”

Smith made a jumper and Djoko missed a three before a foul on Djoko led to an unsuccessful trip to the line, Daly. Two straight cold possessions for Loyola were met by a North Central jump shot from third-year guard Kennedy Hartwig to bring the score to 72-35.

The Ramblers quickly put themselves back on the board with a second-chance layup from Vaughn. A bad pass from Hartwig gave Loyola possession, where Vaughn was fouled on a missed shot attempt and made one of two from the line.

Redditt added a layup off a Kinas turnover, but was met by a three from Hendrix. First-year Cardinals guard Nicole Wulfram matched Hendrix with a three of her own before Djoko scored on a driving layup to extend the Ramblers’ lead to 80-40.

Palmer ended a nearly two-minute scoreless streak with a strong finish in the post. Her score was met by a quick bucket from North Central’s second-year forward Kaitlin Park.

Matus drew a foul on the next possession, knocking down both free throws. Kinas stole the North Central possession and found Palmer, who scored again in the paint. A missed three by the Cardinals led to some quick passing from Kinas to Palmer to Dickman, who couldn’t finish the open layup. 

Palmer’s layup proved to be the last score of the game as neither team could find the bottom of the net in the last minute and 55 seconds. Chivers dribbled out the clock on the 86-42 victory. 

After the win, Guth brought out McCloskey-Bax to give the Loyola legend credit for how well she coached North Central and acknowledge her tenure as a three-time captain and 1,000-point scorer at Loyola, where she also set the record for consecutive games with a made three at 69.

Guth highlighted the pair’s relationship after the game, citing McCloskey-Bax’s support of her when she returned to head Loyola’s women’s basketball team four years ago.

“She’s been so supportive of my arrival back here four years ago, she’s been one of those alum who’s been at the games,” Guth said. “ She’s obsessed with our team and our kids, and so she’ll talk to me about our program. I think any time you have alumni who put their blood, sweat and tears into it, and then they’re invested in it, it means a lot to you. I love when we have former players become coaches.”

Loyola’s regular season kicks off next Monday, Nov. 3, at 6 p.m. in Milwaukee, Wis., taking on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.