March 3, 2012

Box Score

CHICAGO, Ill. - Sophomore Courtney Lindfors scored 18 points to lead four players in double-figures, but it was not enough as Loyola University held off a comeback effort by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team in claiming a 69-62 victory Saturday afternoon at Gentile Arena.

The Panthers (9-20, 5-13 Horizon League) fought back from a 14-point first-half deficit to tie the game and were still within one at 55-54 with 6:17 to play. The Ramblers (13-16, 8-10 Horizon League) answered each UWM run and scored 14 of the final 22 points on the day to earn the win.

"Give Loyola credit, it was their Senior Day and they were ready to play," Milwaukee head coach Sandy Botham said. "We had the offensive punch in terms of scoring, but we just didn't take care of the ball and didn't have enough defensive urgency to finish the game."

Freshman Ashley Green recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, with junior Sami Tucker adding 12 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Kiki Wilson rounded out the list with 10 points and also grabbed six rebounds.

Monica Albano paced Loyola with a season-high 25 points and tied her career-high with six made three pointers. Troy Hambric added 19 and Abby Skube 16 points.

The Ramblers, who came into the game ranked No. 6 in the nation in three-point field goal percentage, made 7-of-14 attempts from long-distance and also came up big on defense by forcing 19 turnovers, which they converted into 20 points.

"It was tough - we just didn't do a good job taking care of the basketball," Botham said. "We'd cut it, then we tied it, but then we'd have some key turnovers."

Lindfors pair of free throws with 6:17 remaining had the Panthers within one at 55-54, but Loyola took control from there, with Albano and Hambric combining for 12 of the final 14 LUC points as it outscored UWM, 14-8, down the stretch to secure the victory.

The Panthers trailed by seven at the half and eventually fell behind, 44-34. But they didn't give up, putting up a 15-5 run that tied the game at 49-49 when Tucker hit a jumper with 8:41 to play.

Loyola opened up the game and looked like it would run away, but the Panthers crawled back into it. Tied at 6-6, the Ramblers would go on an 18-4 run, taking their biggest lead of the day at 24-10 on a layup by Hambric with 6:17 remaining.

"I just don't think we started out very well," Botham said. "They really took it at us the first five minutes and set the tone and then we were playing catch-up the whole afternoon. They got us back on our heels and we stuck with it and persevered but it just wasn't enough."

It was up and down the court from there, with the two teams combining for 29 points the rest of the first. Milwaukee shifted the momentum with a 10-3 spurt, closing to within seven at 27-20 when senior Alex Klawitter hit a three with 4:16 to play.

Milwaukee inched closer and did it on much better shooting from the floor. After starting 2-for-14 (14.3%), UWM hit nine of its final 13 attempts of the half (69.2%) to make it a game.

With the loss, the Panthers finish the regular season at 5-13 in league play and will be the eighth seed in next week's Horizon League Tournament. They did earn a home game after today's action and will host ninth-seeded Valparaiso at the Klotsche Center, tipping off Monday evening at 7 p.m.