Box score
CHICAGO – Five Loyola University players scored in double figures Wednesday night as the Ramblers pulled away for a 77-65 win over Northern Kentucky University in Gentile Arena.
Loyola (3-1) built a 27-10 lead just nine minutes into the game and owned a 34-17 advantage at the 6:49 mark, but NKU (0-4) responded with a 19-4 run to trim the deficit to 38-36 at halftime.
Tiara Hopper scored 12 of her career-high 22 points in the first half to spark the Norse comeback.
Hopper then scored NKU's first six points of the second half to give the Norse a 42-40 lead with 18:20 left in the game. NKU still owned a 44-42 advantage after an
Ellen Holton basket, but Loyola countered with a game-changing 15-0 run to build a 57-44 lead.
Monica Albano drained five 3-pointers and finished with 20 points to lead Loyola, which shot 47.1 percent from the field. Taylor Johnson added 17 points, while teammate Simone Law collected a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Abby Skube netted nine of her 11 points in the second half to help Loyola hold off NKU. Patrice King also sparked the Ramblers by scoring eight of her 12 points after the break.
Hopper pulled down nine rebounds for NKU, which is now 1-1 all-time against Loyola. The Norse won the previous meeting against the Ramblers, 74-55, on Dec. 22, 2005, in Highland Heights, Ky.
Kayla Thacker joined Hopper in double figures with 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Holton grabbed eight rebounds for the Norse, who won the battle of the boards by a 44-40 count.
NKU shot 37.5 percent from the field, including 29 percent in the second half. The Norse, in their first season of Division I competition, missed eight consecutive shots and committed six turnovers during Loyola's decisive 15-0 spurt in the second half.
NKU plays host to Youngstown State next Tuesday (Nov. 27) in The Bank of Kentucky Center at 7 p.m. Youngstown State is off to a 3-0 start and plays at Miami (Ohio) this Sunday.
The game against Youngstown State will also mark the first-ever Division I home contest for NKU's basketball program.
NORSE NOTES: Hopper's previous career-high point total was 18 against Lipscomb on Nov. 18, 2010…Hopper scored those 18 points while playing for Tennessee Tech, and she transferred to NKU last year…Hopper's previous career high at NKU was 14, which she netted against Kentucky Wesleyan on Jan. 26, 2012.
