Women’s Basketball Move to 12-11 after Sixth Straight Win Over VCU

Loyola women’s basketball moved to 12-11 on the season, capturing a win on National Women and Girls in Sports Day Feb. 7 in a 66-55 come from behind win over Virginia Commonwealth University. Loyola’s sixth straight win is the longest streak of Guth’s tenure at Loyola as the Ramblers find themselves above .500 for the first time since starting the season 1-0.

The Ramblers were led by graduate guard Alexus Mobley providing a season high and game high 23 points while the Rams saw 12 points from third-year forward Lucy Ghaifan.

Speaking post game, head coach Allison Guth talked about the importance of winning on the same day the Ramblers hosted a kids clinic before the game to honor National Women and Girls in Sports Day.

“I think you have young girls and boys that get to look up to role models and get to dream, and they get to think about maybe one day getting the opportunity to be there on the floor,” Guth said. “I think that’s what’s so special about it. We talked about it early, I think at the grassroots level, the ability to have fun, the ability for sport to be something you enjoy to do and you’re learning about yourself and you’re learning competition and having to challenge yourself.”

Loyola opened the scoring quickly, with second-year guard Alexa Kinas nailing a baseline floater. Mobley added on with a contested layup, met by second-year Rams guard and forward Katrina Knežević missing two foul shots. Second-year forward Brooklyn Vaughn took advantage, scoring in the post for a 6-0 lead. 

VCU redshirt third-year forward Ann Zachariah got the Rams on the board with a layup. Kinas grabbed an offensive rebound on the next Rambler possession, being fouled on the second-chance attempt, hitting one of two.

Ghaifan tacked on a layup as multiple misses from both sides kept the game at a stalemate before fourth-year guard Ty Williams tied the game at seven on a three. Vaughn quickly put Loyola back in front on a layup but Williams hit her second straight three for the 10-9 VCU lead.

A Vaughn miss led to a VCU trip to the foul line with Knežević drawing a foul on second-year guard Kendall Hendrix, hitting one. A defensive breakdown for the Ramblers left first-year guard Laia Crespín wide open for a corner three and a five point Ram lead.

Loyola missed two threes to end the first quarter as second-year forward Roisin Grandberry was called for a foul with less than two seconds in the quarter, and VCU threw a full court pass to fourth-year guard and forward Tanya Tkachenko for the easy layup on another Rambler breakdown. Head coach Allison Guth rushed her team into the huddle after the Rams ended the quarter on a 9-0 run.

Ghaifan opened the second quarter for VCU on a layup, followed by multiple Rambler misses and a jumper for WIlliams for a 20-9 lead. Mobley ended the 13 point VCU run on a contested layup, getting fouled but missing the and-one chance.

Third-year Ram forward Lucia Sotelo connected on a layup, countered by Mobley making a fading jumper in the paint. Third-year guard Audrey Deptula connected on a three at the top of the key for Loyola’s first make from behind the arc in 10 attempts to cut the lead to 22-16. 

Fourth-year guard Kira Chivers came away with a steal on a VCU inbound, finding Mobley while on the floor for the layup. VCU fourth-year forward Makennah White battled back with a layup of her own. The Rams earned another trip to the line, and Ghaifan missed both attempts. A Deptula missed three led to a quick lay-in from Zachariah, matched by a layup from Mobley.

White and Mobley traded baskets before third-year guard Rosalie Mercille drew a charge on Ghaifan, but an airballed three by Mobley gave VCU an opportunity, where Crespín drew a foul and sank one at the stripe for the 29-22 advantage.

A steal by first-year guard and forward Alex-Anne Bessette led to Vaughn being sent to the line as Loyola entered the bonus, hitting one of two. Another foul on the Rams sent Chivers to the line where she hit both. 

A steal by Chivers gave Loyola a chance with less than 10 seconds in the half, Loyola missed two layup chances before a travel on Knežević gave them an inbound with less than a second left. Bessette’s pass sailed into the stands, and VCU’s ensuing inbound was intercepted, ending the half with the Rams on top 29-25.

Mobley started the second half with a steal and score to ignite the Gentile crowd. A turnover by Mobley led to a quick layup for Knežević, followed by a bad pass from Kinas creating a fast break layup from Sotelo. Sotelo added on another layup as Vaughn and Knežević traded baskets for a 37-29 game.

A loose ball found its way to Mobley who drove to the rim for a layup. An aggressive drive by Mobley sent her to the line where she finished a three-point play. A tipped ball out of bounds was called out on the Ramblers, but Guth called for a challenge, winning back the possession on the overturn. 

VCU’s press on the inbound led to a turnover and a quick lay-in for Zachariah. Mobley made another layup, and the Rams met it with a Ghaifan layup off a jump ball. Ghaifan took advantage of a Mobley miss with a layup to put the lead at 43-36.

Knežević added another two to the lead with a layup before first-year forward Nevaeh Dickman drew a foul on a post make, missing the and-one opportunity. Chivers battled for the ball on the next possession, earning the Ramblers an offensive rebound and jump ball. Vaughn missed a fading jumper at the shot clock buzzer, but drew a charge to give the ball to Loyola.

Mercille made the possession worthwhile, rattling in a 3-pointer for the final points of the third quarter as Loyola trailed 45-41.

Vaughn started the fourth quarter with a steal, drawing a foul as she hit the ground hard chasing after the ball. Turnovers on both sides returned possession to Loyola as Kinas’ three fell off line. 

Another VCU turnover led to Loyola ball, where the ball was poked away from Mercille and ruled out on the Ramblers. Guth challenged the call, but the review determined evidence was inconclusive as the call on the floor stood. 

Mercille made up for her turnover by drawing her second charge of the game on the next possession, as Kinas found Vaughn in the paint for a layup and the first basket of the fourth quarter. A VCU turnover gave Loyola a chance to tie before Mercille stepped on the inbound line to turn the ball over. A Crespín miss led to Loyola ball, where a Chivers lay-in tied the game at 45.

Ghaifan returned the lead to the Rams on a layup before a travel call on Vaughn drew boos from the crowd and Rambler bench. A tip and block by Mobley proved empty as Williams gave VCU a four point lead on a layup. Vaughn made a quick layup the next possession to cut the lead to two as Mercille followed by burying a corner three for the 50-49 lead. 

Kinas sent the crowd into hysterics with a steal and score as VCU called timeout now trailing by three. Strong interior defense from Vaughn exiting the timeout kept the Rams off the board as Chivers brought the crowd to their feet with a three-point play for a six point lead, Loyola’s largest since the first quarter.

A foul sent Ghaifan to the line, but she missed both attempts to stop the Rambler run as a jump ball kept the ball with Loyola. Chivers drove inside once more, finishing a layup. Loyola’s 12 point run was finally broken by a Knežević layup. Mercille kept her hot hand in the corner, hitting another 3-pointer for a 60-51 lead with two minutes to play.

Kinas drew a foul to put Loyola in the bonus, sinking one. Knežević countered with a layup before VCU won a jump ball, but both Ram shot attempts missed. Chivers took advantage, finding Mobley inside for a layup. A charge on Ghaifan gave Loyola possession, but a called travel on a loose ball gave the Rams the ball as they took a timeout. 

Ghaifan scored inside to cut the Loyola lead to eight as Guth took a timeout to move the ball up the floor with 31 seconds left. Kinas drew a foul on a layup attempt, being sent to the line with 22.4 seconds to go, hitting both shots. A missed three by Knežević gave Loyola the ball with 8.1 seconds left as Ghaifan fouled Mercille. 

Mercille made the first and a lane violation on the second shot ended the game in a 66-55 Loyola victory.

After their sixth straight win, Guth spoke on the importance of staying “level headed” and not getting caught up in the moment as Loyola enters the final stretch.

“It’s something that I’m staying pretty level headed with, because the reality is we’re only as good as our last game or our last practice in winning that last moment,” Guth said. “I think that if I look back, I want games back in our pocket. I try to stay really present right now because we’re improving. Improvement in February is good. There’s a ton of areas we need to work on if we want to be considered one of the best in the A10.”

Loyola women’s basketball heads back on the road, facing Duquesne University, who’s still chasing their first conference win of the year Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.