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Jan. 10, 2006

Tonight's Game
After picking up its first win of the Shannon Reidy Era on Saturday, Loyola looks to keep the momentum going tonight when it opens a three-game road swing at Wright State. The Ramblers used solid defense and a balanced offensive attack in their 73-65 win over Cleveland State. The Raiders enter play having dropped two straight Horizon League road games against upper-echelon teams, losing at UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay.

All-Time Series
Tonight is the 24th meeting between the two conference foes, with Loyola holding a slight 12-10 edge in the all-time series. Historically, each team has been able to defend its homecourt and the Raiders have won seven of the 10 meetings in Dayton. In addition, Wright State has won the last three meetings, including a nine-point win (64-55) at the Nutter Center last January. Junior Danielle Nabolotny recorded her only career double-double in that game, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Head Coach Shannon Reidy
First-year head coach Shannon Reidy revitalized the Loyola program before coaching her first game. One of the premier high school coaches in the Midwest, Reidy's record and ability to take the program to the next level is unquestioned. Taking over a sub-.500 team, Reidy turned south-suburban Marian Catholic into a perennial state title contender, posting a 160-54 (.748) record in her seven seasons. More impressively, her charges went 115-17 (.871) over the last three years, advancing Downstate three times including a runner-up finish and a 31-2 record in 2001-02.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner
Loyola's 73-65 win over Cleveland State was the first collegiate victory for first-year head coach Shannon Reidy. In addition, it snapped an 18-game losing streak, dating back to last season, and was the program's first victory since a 78-69 win at Cleveland State on Feb. 10, 2005.

Collaborating In Conference
Loyola entered the 2005-06 season facing the daunting proposition of learning a completely new offensive system and putting it into practice against one of the tougher non-conference schedules. As a result, Loyola averaged only 54.3 ppg as a team through its 11 out-of-league contests. However, the offense has shown signs of improvement now that LU has reached conference play, as the Ramblers have put up 71.7 ppg in three Horizon League games. Perhaps more impressively, Loyola has received contributions from everybody, with four players, led by Marquise Hanser's 20.7 ppg, averaging double figures in League play.

Hanser Having Her Way
Junior Marquise Hanser has exploded on the Horizon League scene during the first two months of the season, scoring at least 20 points in six of Loyola's 14 games, including a career-high 28-point outburst against UW-Green Bay in the Ramblers' Horizon League opener and 21 more at Detroit. By scoring 20 points in the season-opener against Illinois and 25 more against Illinois State, she became the first Loyola player to open a season with a pair of 20-point efforts since Stacy Kundinger at the start of the 1992-93 campaign.

#13 Proves Lucky In First Win
Senior guard Mandy Mennella has had an up-and-down season thus far, a season which included missing the teams first three games due to injury. Mennella seemed to be back to speed a couple weeks ago, reaching double figures in three straight games including a 22-point, 10-rebound effort against Indiana State, before struggling mightily over the next four games, hitting just 6-of-27 (.222) field goals and 4-of-20 (.200) three-point attempts en route to averaging just 4.3 ppg in that span. However, she regained her shooting touch in a big way against Cleveland State, hitting a career-high six three-pointers en route to a game-high 22 points in the Ramblers' first win of the season.

The Real Deal
After an early-season funk in which she was learning the nuances of a new system, junior Jenna Real has begun to turn it on over the last couple weeks, highlighted by a career-best performance against Northern Kentucky. Real torched the Norse for 26 points and nine rebounds, hitting 7-of-10 from the floor while negotiating her way inside and to the foul line, where she hit 12-of-13 charity tosses, and has has kept it going through the early stages of Horizon League play, which she opened with a double-double (10 pts./12 reb.) against Green Bay. After reaching double figures just once in her first five games, Real has done it seven times over the last nine outings and is averaging 13.7 ppg and 8.7 rpg through three conference games.

20-20 Club
Loyola is the only team in the Horizon League, and one of the few teams in the country, that boast two active players who have recorded 20 rebounds in a game. Danielle Lonie was the first, tearing down 20 rebounds against UIC in 2004, before Marquise Hanser tied the school-record, snaring 21 rebounds last season against Youngstown State.

Shouldering The Load
Senior center Danielle Lonie has shown no ill-effects of a two-game layoff, returning to the lineup for Loyola's game at Detroit and making her presence felt in the paint. Lonie, who aggravated an old shoulder injury in the first half against DePaul (12/20) and missed LU's next two games, had 13 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes in her first game back against the Titans and had her way inside against Cleveland State, tying her career-high with 17 points (8-of-13 FGs) and adding nine rebounds as the Ramblers won their first game of the season.

Big Pon
Junior center Emily Ponder has strung together her two best games of the season over the last week, giving the Ramblers a boost in the paint. Ponder posted 10 points and seven rebounds at Detroit last Thursday and reversed those numbers against Cleveland State, finishing with seven points and a career-high-tying 10 boards. Ponder is averaging 8.0 ppg and 6.7 rpg in three conference games this year compared to 3.3 ppg and 3.0 rpg out of conference.

I Am Ironwoman
Junior Marquise Hanser has certainly earned her scholarship this season, averaging 37.3 minutes/game through Loyola's first 14 games. Incredibly, she has exceeded that total over the last five contests, logging an average of 39.2 mpg, including a pair of 40-minute efforts.

Valuing The Orange
Despite the solid rebounding and the play of Marquise Hanser and others in the early going, Loyola has been undone by turnovers. The Ramblers have averaged 27.2 turnovers a game in their first 14 outings, many of them of the unforced variety, as they have rarely translated into steals and easy hoops. Loyola took a step in the right direction against Bradley, turning it over a season-low 18 times which led to a 56-55 edge in field goal attempts, the first time this season the Ramblers have attempted more shots than their opponent.

Doing Fine From 19'9''
One of Loyola's strengths last season was its ability to create and knock down shots from the perimeter. The Ramblers hit 167 from beyond the arc last season after knocking down a single-season record 175 trifectas in 2003-04 and have hit at least one three-pointer in 260 consecutive games dating back to March, 1996. After hitting just one against Robert Morris (on only four attempts), LU broke out the next day against UMBC, drilling 10-of-19 from distance.

Looking Ahead
Coach Reidy and her staff have already taken steps to replenish a roster that contains just nine scholarship players this season, as they announced the signing of five recruits, all Chicagoland products, during the early signing period. The five will be eligible for competition during the 2006-07 season.

Shannon Finnegan C Downers Grove, Ill./South
Jessica Hylton G/F Lockport, Ill./Lockport
Jennifer Juergens G/F Kankakee, Ill./Bishop McNamara
Maggie McCloskey G Chicago, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield
Elyse VanBogaert C Elburn, Ill./Rosary