Women’s Basketball Rambles on to Quarterfinals with 61-59 Nail-biter over Bonnies

Loyola women’s basketball opened their trip to the Atlantic 10 (A10) Conference Tournament with a 61-59 win over St. Bonaventure University. The win was Loyola’s first in the conference tournament since a 53-52 win over Fordham University in the 2023-24 season. 

First-year guard and forward Alex-Anne Bessette supplied a game high 20 points and led Loyola with six rebounds, while Bonnies graduate guard Aaliyah Parker added 16 points and five steals.

After winning the opening tip, Bessette quickly found herself in the paint, opening the game with a hookshot. Parker matched with a baseline jumper before second-year forward Brooklyn Vaughn banked in a layup for the lead.

Parker fought Vaughn in the paint for a score to tie at four. Second-year guard Alexa Kinas immediately put Loyola back in front with a spot up three. After a St. Bonaventure miss, Bessette buried a deep three to make it 10-4 Ramblers.

Loyola’s offensive onslaught continued with a pullup jumper from Kinas. St. Bonaventure’s graduate guard Laycee Drake broke the 8-0 Rambler run with a second-chance layup. Bessette followed by missing a deep three, but Vaughn wrestled for the rebound and made the putback. Parker matched with a second-chance layup of her own as St. Bonaventure used their first timeout with Loyola in front 14-8.

A Bessette turnover led to a foul on the Bonnies fastbreak, where Parker made both shots. Another Rambler turnover and a Parker fadeaway cut Loyola’s lead down to two. Another miss and back-to-back threes from third-year Bonnies guard Kaylee Krysztof saw the Bonnies jump to an 18-14 lead.

A Mobley fastbreak layup broke the 10-0 run for the first Rambler basket since before the five minute mark. Loyola’s full court press caused a five second violation on the Bonnies which they couldn’t capitalize on with a Bessette miss and Mobley turnover. Kinas blocked Krysztof’s three to end the quarter with St. Bonaventure on top 18-16.

Vaughn scored the first basket of the second quarter on a post move to tie before first-year guard Elyse MacDonough brought the Bonnies back in front with a corner three. Third-year guard Rosalie Mercille matched with a 3-pointer of her own to tie at 21. 

A Bessette block opened the fastbreak for Loyola where Mobley found Kinas upcourt for a lay-in. Another block and Kinas was fouled this time on the fast break, making one at the stripe. Macdonough and Mercille traded layups, followed by Vaughn missing two at the line. 

St. Bonaventure took advantage of the empty possession with second-year guard Mackenzie Pettinelli making a turnaround jumper in the paint. Drake rattled in a fadeaway jumper for the 27-26 lead.

Kinas came away with a steal and score to retake the lead, immediately undone by third-year forward Kylie Buckley. Mercille made a three for a two point lead, but a turnover gave the Bonnies the final shot with five seconds left, where Parker banked in a three at the buzzer. Head coach Allison Guth, displeased with the final two possessions from Loyola, quickly marched her team to the locker room down 32-31 at halftime.

Bessette opened the second quarter drawing a fast foul on a drive, sinking both foul shots. Pettinelli matched it with a layup before Bessette swished a three. Kinas connected one of two free throws as the Bonnies remained scoreless. Bessette buried her third three of the game as Drake sank a jumper as Loyola stayed in front 40-36. 

Vaughn and Parker traded baskets before Pettinelli made a jumper to bring the game within two. Kinas drained a three, immediately met by one from MacDonough. Bessette continued to make it rain from deep, burying a 3-pointer. First-year guard Ivona Djikanovic followed with a layup to make it 48-45 Ramblers.

Two free throws from Buckely made it a one point game, before Mobley met it with a layup the next possession. A foul on Vaughn drew anger from Guth and the Loyola bench, leading to a free throw from Parker. A travel call on Mobley kept Guth irate, as another foul led to two foul shots from Drake to tie at 50. 

Kinas missed a baseline jumper as the Bonnies full court heave fell short, entering the fourth quarter in a 50-50 tie.

Loyola started the fourth quarter with a shot clock violation, followed by Drake drawing a foul on Kinas, making one. Three straight misses from the Ramblers kept them down one before Djikanovic scored a fastbreak layup.

Vaughn scored the first points of the quarter for Loyola just under four minutes in. A Bessette drive the basket followed to give Loyola the one point advantage. Buckley drew a foul on Bessette, making both to move the Bonnies back in front. Mercille drew a foul on her way to the rim, missing both.

Drake knocked down a floater as Bessette’s 3-point attempt to tie bricked. Drake held the hot hand, hitting a fading jumper. Fourth-year guard Kira Chivers then brought life back to the Loyola bench with a corner three. A Bonnies miss and Kinas pulled up, draining a jumper to tie at 59. 

Misses from Mercille and Parker kept the game tied with 50 seconds left as Loyola took a timeout. Bessette found her way to the basket with a pump fake to draw an open layup and the two point lead. St. Bonaventure called a timeout with 42.2 seconds to go to regather their troops. 

Bessette spoke after the game on the message Guth gave her before her game winning basket.

“My coach [Guth] came up to me before the play and said ‘have fun’ and that’s what I did,” Bessette said. “You have the whole court to you and I feel like it becomes silent. You know, you gotta make those points to be a big player. I’m just grateful to have a coaching staff and a team that believes in me to put that opportunity in my hands.”

Parker missed a fading post shot as Loyola grabbed the rebound. Two fouls on the Bonnies didn’t put Loyola in the bonus. Kinas had it stolen away. An ensuing foul on Kinas gave the Bonnies an inbound with 10 seconds left. Loyola intentionally fouled with their last to give with 4.9 seconds left.

Petinelli stumbled out of the inbound, regaining control and putting up a three pointer that bounced off at the buzzer, sealing a 61-59 Ramblers victory.

Guth spoke on the team’s gameplan heading into tomorrow’s matchup against A10 regular season champions, University of Rhode Island.

“I’m not gonna give you my gameplan behind the mic right now, but I think we have a good one,” Guth said. “I think we’re looking at this from a different lens and drawing our attention to a couple different areas we could have been better the first time we played them. You’ve known because you follow us and you’ve been at all of our games, seeing that rebounding has been an achilles heel for us.”

Loyola returns to the Henrico Sports & Events Center tomorrow for the quarterfinals at 10 a.m. to face Rhode Island in a one versus eight seed matchup. Loyola lost their only game against the Rams this season in a 70-58 home loss Jan. 3. Streaming will be available on the USA Network.