Revolutionaries Run Women’s Basketball out of WNIT, 71-62

Loyola women’s basketball closed their season with a 71-62 loss in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) Super 16 to fellow Atlantic 10 (A10) foe George Washington University. Graduate guard Alexus Mobley led Loyola with 19 points while third-year Revolutionaries forward Sara Lewis posted a game high 25 points. 

Mobley opened the game with a steal and a score to put the Ramblers in front. Second-year Revolutionaries guard Gabby Reynolds took the lead on a 3-pointer, before stealing the ball from first-year guard and forward Alex-Anne Bessette and taking it in for a lay-in.

Second-year guard Alexa Kinas battled back with a three, met just over a minute later with a jumper by Lewis, who was fouled and hit the and-one. Second-year forward Brooklyn Vaughn and Mobley made consecutive layups to put Loyola up 9-8.

The Ramblers were held scoreless for almost four minutes as George Washington launched a 9-0 rally on a Reynolds 3-pointer, two layups from Lewis and one from third-year forward Kamari Sims. A three from fourth-year guard Kira Chivers closed the first quarter with Loyola trailing 17-12.

A Kinas layup started the second quarter with nearly two minutes passing before George Washington’s second-year guard Tanah Becker matched with a layup of her own. Vaughn drew a foul inside the paint, hitting both foul shots. Fourth-year forward Caia Loving and first-year forward Nevaeh Dickman traded field goals to make it a one-score game.

Mobley followed it up with a three to tie the game, and Kinas made it seven straight for Loyola on a layup to take the lead before Lewis re-tied it on a lay-in. Both defenses turned it on for the next three minutes as neither team could buy a basket. Bessette scored her first basket after Kinas came away with a steal. Sims closed the half with a layup, tied at 25.

Sims fouled Vaughn to open the second half, sinking both shots at the stripe as Becker countered with a layup. Mobley and Reynolds traded threes before a Lewis tip-in put the lead back in the Revolutionaries’ favor. A layup from Vaughn and a jumper from Kinas gave Loyola a short advantage as Sims brought the game to another tie at 34.

Offsetting layups from Lewis and Bessette kept the game at a stalemate before a 3-pointer from Revolutionaries second-year guard Jaeda Wilson, and a layup from Lewis made it a five point game. Kinas drew a foul and sank two at the line before Lewis matched with the same.

A Besette layup was outdone by another three from Wilson. A second straight lay-in from Bessette made it a two point game before Wilson drew a foul, sinking two free throws to close the third quarter, leading 48-42.

Reynolds propelled George Washington to a nine-point lead with a three. Mobley met it with a layup, matched by Becker. A Lewis layup following a foul on Dickman led head coach Allison Guth to argue the call with the referees, receiving a technical foul.

Lewis sank both free throws, and Becker hit a layup to make it a 15-point game. Mobley halted the run with three, with Reynolds sinking one in return. Mobley drew a foul on Becker and sank one of two at the stripe. Third-year guard Rosalie Mercille turned it on from deep, sinking back-to-back threes 

Lewis hit a jumper for the first points for George Washington in three minutes. Mercille followed it by being fouled on a three and hitting two shots. A minute later, Mercille swished her third 3-pointer of the quarter from the top of the key. Reynolds followed with a jumper before being outdone by a corner three from Mobley to make it 66-62.

Two more foul shots followed for Lewis on an aggressive drive, sinking both. Sims sank a layup after Mobley and Vaughn missed lay-ins. Guth called a timeout with 42.4 seconds to go while trailing by eight. Vaughn missed a layup before Mobley bricked a three, and Bessette missed a putback with Sims grabbing the miss. 

After Bessette fouled her, Sims turned the ball over on the inbound to give Loyola one last chance. Mercille got open for a corner three but bricked off the front of the rim as Reynolds was fouled, putting George Washington in the bonus. Reynolds hit one to make it a nine-point game, 71-62, with 9.3 seconds left. 

Guth used a timeout to set her team up. Mobley put up a jumper off the inbound, drawing a foul and missing both shots. Hendrix grabbed the board, but a jump ball returned it to the Revolutionaries, who dribbled out the clock on a 71-62 win over Loyola.

Guth spoke post game about the heart of her team, and how proud she was of their season despite the final loss.

“Obviously, this is disappointing for a lot of reasons,” Guth said. “In March, it’s all about surviving and advancing, and tonight it came down to us. We got out-toughed on a couple of plays, and you can’t do that on the road this time of year and expect to come out on the other side, but I’m proud of the fight our team showed. We made a strong push in the fourth quarter to come back, which speaks to the head, heart and toughness that have defined this group all season.”

The Ramblers’ loss ends their 2025-26 season with a final record of 16-18, with a 9-9 conference record. It marks both the most overall wins and conference wins for Loyola since joining the A10.