 "Photo: Loyola Athletic Department/Steve Woltmann")
The last time LU and UIC went head-to-head, the Flames’ Jessie Miller dropped 29 points on the Ramblers — 21 of which came during the second half. Miller’s spark helped UIC snatch a victory away from Loyola. The Ramblers had a chance to redeem themselves on Feb. 27, traveling across town to the UIC Pavilion.
Prior to the game, Head Coach Eric Simpson recognized that his team had to step up and stop UIC’s scoring threat.
“Obviously, we’ll try to do a better job defending Jessie Miller this time around, but she is a terrific player and a tough cover,” he said.
Simpson went on to discuss the two teams’ recent history: “There has been very little separating our teams in competition over the last few years, and I expect that it will be another close game.”
Simpson made a good call. For the second time this year, the game was decided by less than five points.
In the first half of the game, it was all things McCloskey and Boeke. Senior guard Maggie McCloskey and junior forward Brittany Boeke were the entire LU offense, scoring all of their points. McCloskey started the game by hitting three consecutive three-pointers, giving the Ramblers an early lead (9-2). Boeke followed with a lay-up and a jumper. With 9:10 remaining in the first half, McCloskey knocked down her fourth trey. Boeke scored the next four points to give LU the lead at 20-12.
UIC dominated the rest of the half, closing it out on a 19-3 scoring run. Loyola’s only points came from yet another McCloskey three-pointer. She had five in the first half. At halftime, the score was 31-23 in favor of UIC. On a high note, Loyola was able to shut down Miller and she went into the locker room without having scored one point.
Another Rambler was able to get on the board when senior guard Keisha Collins nailed a three-pointer to start the second half. UIC was able to keep their lead in double figures and extended it to 12 (40-28).
A layup by freshman forward Abby Skube drew a foul (which she made), cut the lead down to nine (40-31) and began an 18-4 scoring run for the Ramblers. Their scoring run was capped off by McCloskey’s seventh three-pointer of the game, which gave LU the lead at 46-44.
After UIC tied it back up, Skube drilled her second trey of the game, making it 49-46. The Ramblers’ lead grew to as much as six (56-50), but UIC still managed to tie things up at 58, eventually taking back the lead.
The Flames had a slim lead with around 1:30 remaining (64-63) after Collins hit one of two from the free-throw line. On LU’s next possesion, Skube came up big and put home a layup with 28 seconds left to give them a lead of 65-64.
UIC’s Jasmine Bailey then missed a three-pointer on their next time down the court, and then McCloskey hit two free throws to ice the win (final score — 67-64 Loyola). McCloskey finished with a game-high 23 points while both Collins and Boeke finished with a double-double: Collins had 12 points and 11 assists, while Boeke had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Skube, who had scored only four points going into Saturday’s game, had a huge day off the bench, finishing with a career-high 17 points. “I’ve been trying to work on my flaws and improve in every practice, so it was a great opportunity to test myself in a big game like this one,” Skube said. Skube applauded her team’s effort as well. “Everyone contributed and played with great energy. We came out with a quick lead but never gave up when we were down. It just came down to who wanted it more.”
The Ramblers played much better basketball in the second half. In comparison to shooting just 35 percent in the first half, the ladies improved to 55 percent in the second (outscoring UIC 44-33). In addition, 11 of their 17 turnovers came in the first half of play.
There are two games left this season — luckily, both are at home. Although they’re guaranteed at least the sixth seed in the Horizon League Tournament, they still have a chance to move up.
Simpson hopes they will be playing their best basketball as the season comes to a close. “I believe our five seniors feel a particular sense of urgency to play their best basketball as this season winds down,” Simpson said. “I also think the respect that they’ve have earned from their teammates will help the younger players to focus on a strong finish.”
Valparaiso comes to town on Thursday, March 4. The regular season finale is on Saturday, March 6, against Butler. Both teams defeated Loyola earlier in the season.
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