Patriots Put Down Women’s Basketball in 67-55 Loss

Loyola women’s basketball lost their third straight game Feb. 18 with a score of 67-55 to George Mason University. First-year guard and forward Alex-Anne Bessette led Loyola with 15 points, and redshirt-third-year Zahirah Walton supplied a game high 22 for the Patriots.

The Patriots started the game fast with third-year guard Kennedy Harris grabbing the opening tip and racing inside the paint for a layup. Graduate guard Alexus Mobley grabbed a missed floater, taking it north-to-south for the layup and a foul, missing the and-one chance. 

Bessette grabbed the rebound, but couldn’t get a shot off before the shot clock expired. After a Bessette miss, graduate Patriot forward Hawa Komara grabbed the offensive rebound on a missed three and made the putback. George Mason’s fourth-year forward Jada Brown came up with a steal and found Walton for a jumper. 

Komara followed with another layup as George Mason took an 8-2 lead. A steal by fourth-year guard Kira Chivers led to a lay-in for second-year forward Brooklyn Vaughn. Mobley took a block cross-court  and drew a foul on the drive, making the first and missing the second.

Mobley lost the ball on the following Loyola possession, allowing Walton to hit a post move on the undersized Chivers in the paint, drawing a foul and making the and-one. Bessette followed with a contested layup of her own to make it 11-7 Patriots.

Walton followed with another basket for George Mason, knocking down a jumper and drawing a foul, much to the dismay of the crowd and head coach Allison Guth. Walton sank her and-one chance before Bessette drove down the lane for another layup. Second-year guard Kendall Hendrix scored on the next possession with a spin move thanks to a steal from second-year guard Alexa Kinas.

George Mason added two on a layup for Harris for their last basket of the quarter as Loyola ended on a 5-0 run. Mobley finished a three-point play on a layup before Kinas connected on a fading jumper at the buzzer for a tie at 16 to end the first.

The second quarter got off to a defensive start with five misses and two turnovers in the first two minutes. Bessette got Loyola on the board with two free throws before Harris and first-year forward Mary Amoateng put George Mason in front on a jumper and two free throws for the 20-18 lead.

Mobley evened things on a layup before Patriot redshirt third-year guard Paige Greenburg buried a corner jumper. Bessette found Hendrix the next possession on a cut to the basket, hitting the layup and drawing a foul, but missing the and-one opportunity. 

Komara finished a Harris missed three with a put-back for a two-point lead before Brown buried a 3-pointer. Chivers closed the half with a three-point play as the Ramblers trailed 27-25.

After George Mason bricked back-to-back 3-pointers to open the second half, Kinas took advantage, beating the Patriots to the basket for a layup to tie. Harris pushed the Patriots back in front on a layup before Walton extended the lead with two free throws. After Vaughn got trapped near the midcourt line, Guth took a timeout to reset the Ramblers, down 31-27.

Walton capitalized on a Kinas miss with a fadeaway paint jumper. Bessette showed off her range the following possession on a 3-pointer to bring the lead back down to three. After a two-minute cold stretch on both sides, Komara broke through with a lay-in and foul, missing the and-one, but graduate forward MJ Johnson grabbed the offensive rebound.

Loyola forced a shot clock violation, but the referees called a foul on Chivers before the expiration, much to the ire of the Loyola coaching staff. After review, it was ruled the shot clock expired before the foul, giving the Ramblers the ball.

Vaughn made the possession worthwhile, sinking two foul shots. Walton drew a foul of her own on a made layup, finishing the three-point play. Guth voiced her frustrations towards the refs once more on a Loyola out-of-bounds call, challenging the call and losing the review. Brown burned Loyola on a three for the 41-32 advantage. 

Bessette ended George Mason’s 6-0 run with a steal before finding Vaughn in the paint for a lay-in. Amoateng hit a layup before third-year guard Rosalie Mercille splashed home a 3-pointer. Bessette continued to bring the Ramblers closer, adding two at the charity stripe.

Johnson followed with a fadeaway jumper over Mercille before Mercille’s three-point attempt rattled out. Harris missed the Patriots’ final shot attempt on a three to end the quarter with George Mason leading 45-39.

Mobley started the fourth with a paint floater, and Walton retaliated with two free throws. Harris stripped Bessette of the ball, taking it downcourt and drawing a foul on Mercille, but missed both at the line. Bessette tacked on two in the paint the next possession before Johnson missed both at the line, but made up for it with a second-chance fadeaway. 

Walton hit a stepback over Bessette before a miscommunication led to Chivers throwing a pass out of bounds. Loyola’s defense locked down the Patriots on the ensuing possession, forcing another shot clock violation. Kinas capitalized with a paint jumper to make it 51-45 with five minutes remaining.

Brown stole the ball away from Kinas before finishing the play with a layup, matched by one from Bessette. Guth called a timeout with four minutes to play to regather her team. Walton scored on a layup out of the timeout as Bessette had the ball stripped on a drive. Harris capitalized on the opportunity with a jumper to make it a 57-47 game. 

Johnson drew a foul on a fadeaway called on Mobley, which would have been her fifth. After Guth pleaded her case to the refs, the call was switched to a foul on Vaughn, and Johnson sank both for a 12-point lead. Kinas drew a foul on Walton who sank both shots.

Walton missed a layup on the next possession, missing but drawing a foul and making the second shot. Loyola turned the ball over before Brown airballed a jumper. A 10-second violation on Loyola gave the Patriots possession where Brown traveled. 

Mercille missed a corner three as Mobley stormed into the paint, grabbing the rebound and putting the layup in, failing to complete the and-one. Amoateng drove through the paint, making the layup and drawing a foul, finishing the three-point play. Mercille was fouled, putting Loyola in the bonus and made one of two shots.

Amoateng drew another foul, stepping up to the line and making both with 34 seconds left to take a 65-52 lead. Mercille buried a quick three to cut it to 10 as Guth took a timeout. George Mason extended the break with a timeout of their own before the inbound, where Kinas was forced to foul Amoateng, who sank both. 

A Mobley miss closed the book as the Ramblers dropped their third game in a row, 67-55.

After the loss, Loyola fell to seventh in the Atlantic 10 standings. Post game, Guth spoke on her message to the team with three games left before the conference tournament.

“There’s places where I’m proud of our effort here, and I think the message is that you gotta take care of one at a time,” Guth said. “There’s still a lot of basketball left to be played before we go there. The goal is to get a bye in the first round of the tournament, any type of bye helps you as you move on.” 
Loyola heads on the road next, traveling to St. Bonaventure University Feb. 21 to take on the Bonnies at 2 p.m. The Ramblers previously beat St. Bonaventure Jan. 31 in a 60-52 home win. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.