Loyola women’s basketball dropped their second straight in a 65-50 loss on senior day.
Loyola women’s basketball dropped their second straight in a 65-50 loss on senior day.
Loyola women’s basketball hosted Saint Joseph’s University Feb. 14 on Senior Day, where the Ramblers celebrated graduate guard Alexus Mobley and fourth-year guard Kira Chivers.
The Ramblers couldn’t bring home the win, falling 63-50 to Saint Joseph’s after a rough first half. Loyola was led by 15 points from second-year guard Alexa Kinas while Hawks’ third-year guard Aleah Snead posted a game high 16 points to go along with 12 rebounds.
Head coach Allison Guth spoke after the game on the impact Loyola’s two graduates have left on the program.
“I think [Mobley] off the floor, you take away the basketball piece of it, she’s been a joy to be around and coach,” Guth said. “She’s overcome a lot of adversity. I think she has fortitude. I think she has a perseverance that’s really special. That’s gonna carry her a long way in life, and I think that the way she has fallen in love with Team 47 and the way they loved her back speaks for itself.”
Speaking on Chivers, Guth emphasized the impact she had as someone who bought into the program Guth was building when she arrived at Loyola.
“She was the first person that we recruited here, and to think about what she’s poured into this program, I get emotional thinking about it,” Guth said. “[Chivers] is so special to me because when you’re building something you have to have buy in, and [Chivers] has been bought in from day one.”
Despite the Ramblers winning the opening tip, a travel violation on first-year guard and forward Alex-Anne Bessette led to the Hawks taking the lead on a layup from second-year guard Jill Jekot. A Loyola miss led to another layup, this time from fourth-year forward Faith Stinson. Yet another miss and a basket by third-year guard Gabby Casey gave Saint Joseph’s a 6-0 advantage.
As Loyola stayed scoreless after missing their first eight shots, Stinson added on a layup for an 8-0 lead. Kinas drew a foul and sank both for the Ramblers first points with less than five minutes left in the quarter. First-year Hawks guard Kaylinn Bethea matched with a layup. Casey added on with a fastbreak lay-in for the 12-2 lead.
Chivers drew a hard foul the next possession but missed both shots at the stripe. Snead took advantage of the empty possession with a spot up jumper before Chivers finally sank Loyola’s first and only field goal of the first quarter on a corner three with two minutes left in the quarter.
Second-year guard Kendall Hendrix was fouled and sent to the line on a second-chance layup, but missed both at the line. Hendrix was called for a foul on a drive by second-year forward Cecilia Kay, where she made both. Mobley was called for a charge on the Ramblers final possession as the Hawks led 16-5 after the first quarter.
After a travel on Saint Joseph’s opened the quarter, Mobley hit a layup to close the gap to single digits before Kay reinstated the lead with a second-chance lay-in. Mobley and second-year Hawks’ guard each took successful trips to the line before Kinas hit a baseline jumper as Loyola trailed 22-9.
Snead took advantage of a charge on Bessette to add another layup to the lead. Another Besette turnover led to a Jekot fastbreak layup for a 26-9 lead. Chivers cut into the lead with a layup before being immediately outdone by Saint Joe’s first-year guard Emily Knouse on a deep three.
Snead continued to increase the gap with a layup, but missed the and-one attempt after being fouled by Hendrix. Third-year guard Audrey Deptula drilled a corner three before Kinas drew a foul on a fastbreak after a steal, hitting one. Stokes countered with a second-chance layup before Kinas met it with a jumper.
A stepback three by Knouse with a minute-and-a-half left was the last basket of the half after a charge was called on Mobley with 0.7 seconds left, leaving Guth in dismay as the Ramblers trailed 36-17 at halftime.
Second-year forward Brooklyn Vaughn started the second half with a second-chance layup, matched with one by Snead. Vaughn drew a charge, leading to Kinas finding third-year guard Rosalie Mercille in the corner for a three. Snead met the make with a layup before a Mercille turnover gave Casey a fastbreak score for a 42-22 lead.
Kinas hit a jumper before a jump ball — with one second remaining on the shot clock — led to a turnover for the Hawks. Hendrix took an offensive board from a Mercille miss and hit the putback.
Vaughn continued to cut into the deficit, finishing a layup off a feed from Bessette. Snead met it with a jump shot as Jekot added on a wide open layup. First-year forward Nevaeh Dickman closed the quarter with a post score to make it 46-30, in favor of the Hawks.
Jekot opened the quarter by connecting a three as Dickman tacked on two with a jumper from the edge of the paint. Jekot added a layup before a Dickman miss led to a quick layup from Snead. A Kinas block led to her racing cross court and hitting a paint jumper to cut the lead to 53-34.
Mobley hit a layup on a steal and score, met by a quick two from Stinson. After a successful trip from Deptula, Bethea and Chivers traded layups and Hendrix added one of her own, forcing a Saint Joseph’s timeout, only leading by 15.
A foul on Kinas gave the Hawks an inbound out of the timeout where a miscommunication left Bethea wide open for a three. Snead added two after a Loyola turnover before Mobley got Loyola back on the board with a turnaround jumper. Kinas tacked on two by banking in a floater and Mobley added another two with a layup for a 62-48 deficit.
A Chivers steal led to a Kinas layup to cut the lead to 12 with 73 seconds to play. A full court heave by Saint Joseph’s was tipped away by Mercille to Mobley, where she drove downcourt and drew a foul, missing both attempts at the line. Hendrix grabbed the second miss, finding Kinas on a baseline cut as she missed the layup.
The Ramblers were forced to foul down 12 with Mobley sending Stokes to the line, where she sank the first and missed the second. Jekot grabbed the offensive rebound as Guth told the team not to foul as the dribbled out the clock on a 63-50 Saint Joseph’s win.
Guth spoke on how Loyola can bounce back from consecutive losses before hosting George Mason University next week.
“We’re just gonna have to take the day, step back,” Guth said. “When we get back to the lab tomorrow, I think it’s dissecting a bit of film. I think it’s building more confidence, cause this is just an odd day for us the way we shot it.”
Loyola stays home this week, hosting George Mason after losing 59-54 on the road to the Patriots Jan. 14. Tip off Feb. 18 is scheduled for 6 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
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