Kinas’ Defense Leads Women’s Basketball to 59-55 Win in Season Opener

Loyola women’s basketball played their first game of the season in a road matchup against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, escaping with a 59-55 win. Second-year guard Alexa Kinas led the way with an all-around performance, adding nine points, seven rebounds, two steals and a crucial block down the stretch to seal the win. 

Milwaukee’s third-year guard Joey Buwalda started off the game with a second-chance layup after missing on a 3-pointer. Third-year guard Rosalie Mercille immediately countered with a three to give Loyola their first lead.

Buwalda matched with a quick pullup jumper to retake the lead before a steal on the following Panther possession by redshirt third-year Clara Djoko led to a quick three by Mercille. Buwalda continued to lead the charge for Milwaukee driving home a layup. Buwalda scored on the following possession, finding a steal by redshirt second-year guard and forward Payton Rechlicz and sending in a layup. Fourth-year guard Kira Chivers added a 3-pointer, but the Panthers maintained a 10-9 lead.

Chivers’ three was the last Ramblers points for over six minutes as they went cold from the field. Milwaukee redshirt second-year guard Sophia Rampulla connected on a three after a Djoko travel and a following fast break layup by Panthers redshirt third-year guard Jada Williams gave them a 15-9 lead. 

Neither team could find the bottom of the net for the next four minutes until a three from Milwaukee’s third-year guard Micaylas Silas extended their lead to 18-9. Following two missed shots from Loyola, Djoko stole the ball and sent it up court to Kinas who finished at the rim with one second left in the quarter to make it 18-11.

Kinas started the second quarter with a jumper, following a missed three from third-year guard Audrey Deptula. Three minutes of cold play followed, with eight missed shots between the two teams before second-year forward Brooklyn Vaughn jumped a pass for a steal and score.

The Panthers followed with a tip-in by Buwalda before Deptula countered with a fadeaway jumper. Deptula and Milwaukee’s second-year guard Valerie Cassidy-De Falco swapped layups. Deptula fouled Williams where she made one from the line. 

Vaughn followed with a missed layup before grabbing her own miss and putting back a second-chance jumper. Vaughn blocked a layup on the next possession before her and second-year guard Kendall Hendrix were called for fouls, which led to a one-for-two trip at the line from Rampulla. 

First-year guard Daniella Matus was fouled on the following possession, where she kicked off a 6-0 run of only free throws, making one at the line. Deptula was fouled next from behind the 3-point line, making all three. Deptula was fouled again on her next shot, where she made two more from the line to give the Ramblers the lead at 27-24.

Buwalda ended Loyola’s unanswered run with a second-chance layup, and Williams made two from the free-throw line to give them the lead back at 28-27. The lead was short-lived as first-year forward Nevaeh Dickman was fouled twice in the final minute, going two for four at the line to give Loyola the 29-28 lead at halftime.

The third quarter started slow with both teams missing shots and turning the ball over until — three minutes in — Deptula grabbed an offensive rebound on a missed three from Vaughn, leading to a driving layup from Mercille.

First-year guard and forward Alex-Anne Bessette took over for Loyola, extending their lead to five on a steal and score, then adding another two on a fast break following a made free throw from Panthers first-year guard Madison Fitzgibbon.

Milwaukee tightened the lead to 35-31 after a pair of free throws from Williams before Bessette knocked down a pullup jumper. Another steal and score made it eight straight Rambler points from Bessette. 

Bessette added a layup to make it 41-33 in favor of the Ramblers. Silas followed with one at the line before Vaughn nailed a three to give Loyola its biggest lead of the night at 44-34. The score shrank quickly as Silas hit two more from the line. Two more from Cassidy-De Falco and a layup from Buwalda ended the quarter with a 44-40 Loyola lead.

Milwaukee’s momentum carried into the fourth, scoring the first points on two Lomen free throws. Djoko ended the Ramblers’ three-minute cold stretch with a layup before Rechlicz added a layup for the Panthers, which Djoko offset with a mid-range jumper.

Fouls continued to plague Loyola as Cassidy-De Falco made two at the line. Djoko added a make close in the paint where she was fouled and missed the and-one chance. Besette made her last of a Loyola high 12 points on a fadeaway jumper to give Loyola a 52-46 lead.

Kinas snatched a steal and finished at the rim to extend their lead to eight with six minutes left. Rampulla started a nine-point Panther rally with a three. Buwalda added a layup, and Rechlicz made a free throw after being fouled by Djoko. Another foul on Djoko led to another free throw from Cassidy-De Falco. A close floater from Rechlicz gave Milwaukee their first lead of the half at 55-54.

Chivers countered quickly with a pullup shot in the paint. After a Panthers travel, Kinas hit a jump shot to extend the Rambler lead to 58-55. After Kinas stole the ball, Mercille was intentionally fouled with 51 seconds to go, but she missed both shots at the line. 

Milwaukee third-year guard Rita Gomes put up a potential game-tying three which was blocked on a late close out from Kinas. Another intentional foul sent Mercille to the line where she missed both again to give the Panthers another chance.

Buwalda put up another game-tying three and missed, allowing Kinas to grab the rebound, drawing a foul shortly after. She missed the first and made the second. Another missed 3-point attempt ended the game in a 59-55 Ramblers win

Head coach Allison Guth praised Loyola’s effort on defense down the stretch, but emphasized there was more work to do going forward.

“We’re learning a lot about ourselves and the importance of being intentional with our adjustments,” Guth said. “We struggled with rebounding and shooting, but the group found ways to get stops and make key plates when it counted. Defensively, we made crucial stops and limited a very talented opponent. This game gives us lessons to build on as we move forward.”

Loyola takes the court next for their home opener against the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. in Gentile Arena. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.