Broncos Beatdown Women’s Basketball in Achter’s First Return to Gentile 58-45

Loyola women’s basketball returned home to face Western Michigan University. Head coach Allison Guth’s predecessor, Kate Achter, returned to Gentile for the first time since being let go by the program at the end of the 2021-22 season.

The Broncos came out victorious 58-45, with 13 points from second-year guard Alli Harness. Loyola was led by 18 points from fourth-year guard Kira Chivers.

Broncos third-year guard Nile Muguira Orbe scored on the opening possession with a layup. Redshirt third-year forward Clara Djoko followed it up with a baseline drive where she missed her first attempt before grabbing the board and putting it back in. Chivers tacked on with a 3-pointer to make it 5-2.

Three minutes of scoreless play followed as neither team could find a bucket before Broncos fourth-year guard Alli Carlson was fouled, making both shots at the line. Loyola responded with a layup from second-year forward Brooklyn Vaughn. Western Michigan’s second-year forward D’Myjah Bolds added another lay-in to cut the Loyola lead to 7-6.

Western Michigan took their first lead of the game on a layup from redshirt fourth-year forward De’Ahna Richardson. Chivers quickly snatched it back with another three before second-year guard Kailey Starks tied it for the Broncos at 10.

Bolds gave Western Michigan the lead once more with a layup, and Richardson added on two at the line before Chivers missed a driving layup at the buzzer to end the first with Loyola trailing 14-10. 

The second quarter started with strong defense and bad misses on both sides, keeping the game scoreless for over three minutes before Carlson was sent to the line, making one for the Broncos. Chivers countered after being fouled on the next possession and sinking both for the first Rambler points in nearly six minutes. 

Fourth-year forward Mary Clare Brusek was sent to the line for Western Michigan where she made the first but got her own board the second shot as she kicked it across to first-year guard Olivia Flynn who made the three and forced a Loyola timeout trailing 19-12.

The Bronco lead expanded to nine after an easy Bolds layup. Turnovers continued to plague the Ramblers as a Carlson layup expanded the lead to 23-12. Chivers missed a corner three on the next possession before getting a kick-out pass on Djoko’s rebound and sinking a second chance three for the first Loyola field goal of the quarter with just over two minutes to go.

Muguira Orbe countered with a quick three and another Loyola turnover led to a 3-pointer from Harness. Another miss gave Western Michigan the final possession of the half as Harness hit a fading jumper to make it 31-15 as Guth quickly marched her team into the locker room after being outscored 17-5 in the second quarter. 

Both teams started the second half fast, with a turnaround jumper from Vaughn being offset by a three from Muguira Orbe and a free throw from Starks. Vaughn hit another fading floater in the paint, which was instantly matched by a layup from Richardson. Second-year guard Alexa Kinas got on the board with a layup, but the Broncos refused to let their lead shrink with Starks adding a layup.

First-year guard and forward Alex-Anne Bessette sank a lay-in on a baseline drive, but a Western Michigan steal led to a wide-open corner three from Harness. She further buried the Ramblers’ hopes by making a corner three the next possession. Bessette and Chivers fought back with a layup and 3-pointer to make it 45-28.

It was nearly three minutes before the next basket as Bolds knocked down a jumper. Vaughn got Loyola back on the board with a layup, but missed her chance at a three-point play. Harness sank a hook shot to end the quarter, giving the Broncos a 49-30 lead.

Chivers kicked off the fourth with a spinning layup before graduate guard Alexus Mobley stole the ball and hit a layup, was fouled, and sank the three-point play for the transfer’s first points as a Rambler. Mobley tacked on another two, sinking a floater from the paint to bring Loyola within 12 at 49-37.

After the game, Guth spoke on the positives she saw from Mobley from the transfers’ first minutes on the floor with Loyola after being out with an injury

“I think with [Mobley], if you’re a basketball fan, just seeing her after being out the entire season come back with the tenacity to be on the ground for 50/50 loose balls, to be aggressive going for steals, to be active on the glass and her ability to get downhill,” Guth said. “I mean, it’s why she’s here, and we’ve needed that all season, so I think when you talk about she can impact us in a positive way, I don’t even think it all shows up on the stat line.”

Starks was fouled on the next possession, sinking a single shot at the line to make it 50-37. Three scoreless minutes followed before Chivers and Starks traded layups. A foul on Mobley led to a free throw from Carlson, before a Bessette steal gave her a transition layup to cut it to 53-41 with three minutes to play. 

Mobley missed a 3-pointer on the following possession, but the rebound was grabbed and put back in by Kinas. Starks combatted with a layup, and Mobley brought it back to within 10 on a jump shot from just inside the top of the key. 

With 92 seconds left, Loyola called a timeout to arrange their defense for the possession. Bessette stole the ball, but a short layup from Chivers gave the Broncos the ball with a minute left. Vaughn fouled Richardson and despite missing both, first-year guard Daniella Matus overshot a layup, forcing Loyola to foul Carlson who sank both at the stripe. 

A Matus missed three sent Carlson to the line again, where she made one. An airball 3-pointer attempt from Mobley sealed the Ramblers’ fate as they trailed 58-45 with 17 seconds left as the Broncos dribbled out the clock. 

Guth spoke on how Loyola’s lack of offense impacted their ability to full-court press teams early throughout games.

“What’s crazy is we are a great team when we can press,” Guth said. “You have to score to set up a press. Go to the second quarter, go to the first quarter, I don’t think 10 points is enough points. I think that’s a bad quarter, only to be coupled by a quarter where we score five points. If you’re scoring five points, then we can’t tag up and press. Our entire gameplan is to press the whole game.”

Loyola gets a week to mull over the loss before their next matchup against Oakland University, Monday, Dec. 15, at 11 a.m. Streaming will be available on Marquee Sports Network.