Women’s basketball played their first exhibition game against Elmhurst University Oct. 29, soaring above the Bluejays 108-41.
Women’s basketball played their first exhibition game against Elmhurst University Oct. 29, soaring above the Bluejays 108-41.
Loyola women’s basketball team cruised to a 108-41 victory over Elmhurst University in Gentile Arena Oct. 27. The team was led by first-year forward Brooklyn Vaughn with 21 points and fourth-year forward Jess Finney with 20 points.
The high-scoring affair was a successful test of a new offensive game plan – inspired by the NCAA title-winning University of Connecticut – according to head coach Allison Guth.
“The team is so fired up,” Guth said, “Because they know that this unselfish style of play and this new offense that we’ve implemented puts everybody in a better position to score. It moves defenses in a really high rate.”
The Bluejays started the contest before the game clock even started as second-year guard Natalie Harty sunk a single free throw following an administrative foul on Loyola Athletics for an alleged game clock issue.
Graduate forward Sitori Tanin grabbed the opening tipoff for the Ramblers, who quickly got on the board when graduate guard Naelle Bernard made an opening drive layup. Third-year guard Kira Chivers added a 3-pointer and Finney had two free throws for a 7-1 lead.
The Bluejays got their first points in regulation when second-year forward Diellza Dalipi converted two at the free-throw line.
Elmhurst wouldn’t score for another five-and-a-half minutes as the Ramblers went on a 14-point run with layups from Chivers and Tanin along with 3-pointers from Bernard and second-year guards Audrey Deptula and Rosalie Mercille for the 21-3 score.
After third-year forward Cierra Steemer made an open layup for the Bluejays, the Ramblers closed out the first quarter with two more successful layups from Finney and Vaughn for a 25-5 lead.
The Blue Jays opened the second quarter with two free throws converted by second-year Bluejay guard Kristin Bukata. The Ramblers continued the offensive onslaught, unleashing three 3-pointers and a layup to give them a 36-7 advantage.
After Dalipi made a two-point jumper, Vaughn scored a layup and first-year guard Holly Dolny drained a 3-pointer to keep things distant at 41-9.
In the following four minutes, the Bluejays grew their offensive consistency, but were outscored in a back-and-forth battle – Elmhurst with six points and Loyola with nine.
With under two minutes remaining in the half, both teams had difficulties scoring on offensive possessions, but were able to get two points each and closed at 52-17.
To start of the second half, Finney’s pass inbounds was stolen by Harty. Undeterred, Finney stole the ball back and traveled the full length of the court for a driving layup.
For the majority of the third quarter, Finney and Tanin were the lone scorers, combining for 13 points before graduate guard Thoranna Kika Hodge-Carr converted a layup with just over three minutes left in the quarter. On the other end of the court, Elmhurst scored nine points.
With the Ramblers up 72-26, Elmhurst’s third-year guard Sierra Gibson delivered a tough layup after an offensive rebound.
Chivers responded with a layup, only for the Bluejays to sink a 3-pointer a minute later. Two consecutive offensive possessions for the Ramblers ended in layups by Vaughn and first-year guard Alexa Kinas, concluding the third quarter with Loyola ahead 78-31.
Gibson started the final quarter by making her first of two free throws. The Ramblers followed with six straight points – Vaughn with four via a layup and two free throws, and first-year guard Kendall Hendrix with her third layup of the night.
After the Bluejays converted another lone free throw to make the game 84-33, third-year guard and forward Emma Theodorsson converted four straight points, her first points of her Loyola career.
Up 88-33, the Ramblers continued to pound away, with Elmhurst’s fourth-year guard Sulika Ili’s layup being the only response to the Ramblers scoring 13. Loyola finally eclipsed the century mark after a 3-pointer from Dolny made it 101-35 in front of a raucous Gentile crowd.
The Bluejays managed to outscore Loyola in the final minutes six points to four. The Ramblers killed off the game as Vaughn delivered a shot-clock beating 3-pointer, giving them the 108-41 victory and pushing her over the 20 point mark.
Statistically, the Ramblers were effective, finishing 56.4% on 78 field goal attempts and converting 13 of 35 three-point shots. Loyola also grabbed 54 total rebounds and 28 assists, compared to Elmhurst’s 22 rebounds and eight assists.
In her first experience in Gentile Arena, Theodorsson complimented the energy and expressed excitement for the upcoming year.
“It felt great,” Thedorsson said. “Just to hear the band, see the cheer team, dance team – it was just a great environment. I’m looking forward to the season.”
The Ramblers open up their regular season game Nov. 6 in Gentile Arena, where they take on University of Illinois Chicago at 6 p.m. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
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