Women’s Basketball Falters in Late Effort Against Dayton

A late comeback effort by the Loyola women’s basketball team against the University of Dayton Jan. 29 fell short by just two points in a 67-64 loss in Gentile Arena.

Head coach Allison Guth said the team’s late push was commendable despite the outcome.

“Really disappointed we can’t get to the end of this one with a different outcome with a win,” Guth said. “But absolutely proud of our team’s fight and effort against a very good Dayton team.” 

The result was a far cry from the teams’ matchup earlier this season, where Dayton trounced the Ramblers in an 83-45 affair.

Graduate forward Sitori Tanin grabbed the game’s opening tipoff, but several miscues ended the Rambler’s first offensive possession. Flyer’s fourth-year forward Arianna Smith, who ended the day with 19 points, got off to a hot start, muscling in two consecutive layups.

On the other end, first-year guard Alexa Kinas hit two free throws before Dayton added two more layups by Smith and second-year guard Dennika Smith to make it a six-point Dayton lead. First-year guard Kendall Hendrix’s layup got two back for the Ramblers before a timeout was called on the floor.

Out of the timeout, Dayton’s fourth-year guard Ivy Wolf converted on a layup — the first two points of a game-leading 20-point performance. 

Graduate forward Thoranna Kika Hodge-Carr and third-year guard Kira Chivers added three points at the line following a layup by Flyers’ third-year guard Nayo Lear.

Smith and Kinas exchanged layups as Wolf nailed a jumper. Three quick passes by the Ramblers made their way to second-year guard Audrey Deptula for a 3-pointer. Tanin converted a layup after a Flyer turnover to cut into the 16-14 Dayton lead.

Dayton’s first-year guard Olivia Leung drove into the paint and was blocked, but she grabbed her own rebound and converted a second-chance attempt for a four-point advantage.

Quick 3-pointers from Wolf and the other from graduate guard Naelle Bernard opened the second quarter. In a two-and-a-half minute span leading to a timeout, Dayton jumped out to a 28-19 lead with a Smith layup and a long 3-pointer and two free throws from Wolf, while Tanin finished a layup.

Third-year guard Shantavia Dawkins added two free throws for the Flyers, and fourth-year forward Shannon Wheeler converted a wide-open layup to extend Dayton’s lead to 32-19.

In a two-minute stretch, the Ramblers went on a 9-3 run. Third-year guard Emma Theodorsson finished a layup and a 3-pointer alongside Hendrix’s two layups, while Smith made a layup and a lone free throw.

Neither side was able to convert on respective opportunities in the final minute, and the halftime buzzer sounded with Dayton leading 35-28.

Loyola started the third quarter with a six-point run, as a lone jumper from Wolf was met by three layups by Bernard, Kinas and Chivers, forcing a Dayton timeout.

Wolf followed the timeout with another jumper, but was met with four straight points by Theodorsson to bring the Ramblers within one.

Leung stretched the court with a 3-pointer, and Wheeler followed with a two-point jumper in the corner. Vaughn converted on both of her free throws, and a quick series of baseline passes made their way to Hodge-Carr for a layup and a 44-42 scoreline before a Loyola timeout.

With 20 seconds remaining in the third, Dayton’s graduate guard Rikki Harris added a layup through a foul and converted on the and-one for a five-point advantage.

Smith started the fourth quarter converting on a layup. On the other end, fourth-year forward Jess Finney — who finished the night as the Rambler’s highest scorer with 11 points — converted a quick catch-and-shoot 3-pointer before finishing a layup on the next game possession.

Leung drove in for a layup, and Bernard hit a jumper in response. As Dayton began their next offensive possession, Hendrix stole the ball and passed it to Vaughn, who finished a layup to tie the game at 51.

Wheeler made a free throw after being fouled, while a Deptula jumper gave the Ramblers their first lead of the game. 

The lead dissipated after a six-point run by Dayton, with two free throws by Harris and a two layups from Smith, before Finney stopped the bleeding with a three.

Wheeler hit a layup while a hot-handed Finney drained a corner 3-pointer. A floating layup by Wolf gave Dayton a 62-59 lead and forced a Loyola timeout.

Hodge-Carr drove under the basket for a reverse layup making it a one-point game. After recovering a Dayton turnover, with just over a minute and a half remaining in the game, a crucial pass from Kinas to Bernard was miscued and fell out of bounds.

Graduate Dayton guard Nicole Stephens slipped in an uncontested layup. A tactical Loyola foul resulted in Wolf hitting both free throws for the 20-point stat line and a 66-61 Dayton lead.

Despite a 3-pointer from Deptula with four seconds remaining, a lone free throw by Harris iced the game and cemented Dayton’s second win of the season against Loyola.

In lieu of the noticeable paint dominance by Dayton — 38 points in the paint and 32 rebounds to Loyola’s 30 and 25 — Guth said limiting the overall Dayton offense was a positive.

“We have a ton of respect for them,” Guth said. “I think our adjustments in trying to switch up and switch clean, knowing that size-wise for us we’re not giving up much in some of our lineups, trying to throw different bodies at them — I think that was successful.”

Following a short break, the Ramblers travel to Davidson, N.C. to take on Davidson College Feb. 5. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start and can be streamed on ESPN+.