Feb. 27, 2013
Milwaukee Panthers (8-16, 4-8 Horizon) at Loyola (13-13, 8-5)
Thursday, Feb. 28 • 7 p.m.
Chicago, Ill. •Gentile Arena
13WBBUWM2
Ramblings
• Loyola looks for its seventh consecutive Horizon League win when it hosts Milwaukee tonight at Gentile Arena
• The Ramblers are riding their first six-game League winning streak since 2001-02
• Milwaukee holds a 32-13 advantage in the all-time series but Loyola rallied for an 84-74 win earlier this season and has won the last four meetings
• Simone Law scored a career-high 29 points and Taylor Johnson finished with 13 points, including the go-ahead basket with just over a minute left, as Loyola held on for a 72-67 win at Cleveland State
• Taylor Johnson is the reigning Horizon League Newcomer of the Week. She has won the award each of the last two weeks and six times overall this season
• Loyola has finally made it back to the .500 mark for the season. The Ramblers have finished the season over .500 just once in the last 23 years (2001-02)
• Loyola was picked fourth in the Horizon League Preseason Poll and Law was chosen to the Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team
Head Coach Eric Simpson
In his fourth season at the helm, Eric Simpson has a lot of weapons at his disposal as the Ramblers, with a talented group of veterans and newcomers, look to move up the Horizon League standings. Simpson put together the best season of any first-year Loyola coach in 2009-10, leading the Ramblers to a 15-15 mark with a senior-laden squad, and this year's team returns its top five scorers from last year. Simpson graduated from Northwestern in 1994 with a degree in history and brings a career record of 53-64 (.453) into tonight's game and is 4-3 (.571) against Milwaukee
Loyola/Milwaukee - The Series
Tonight is the 46th meeting between the two teams with Milwaukee holding a 32-13 lead in the all-time series. The Panthers have won 12 of the 21 meetings here but Loyola has had the upper hand of late, winning each of the last four games overall, its longest streak in the history of the seres. Taylor Johnson put together one of the best individual performances in the Horizon League this season in the first meeting, finishing with 33 points, 11 rebounds, seven rebounds and five steals, and Monica Albano added 31 points as Loyola rallied for an 84-74 win.
Horizon League Fighting The Law And The Law Is Winning
Sophomore post Simone Law made an immediate impact last season, giving the Ramblers a presence in the paint, and has continued to play at a high level this year. A member of the 2011-12 Horizon League All-Newcomer Team and a Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team choice this fall, Law became the first freshman in program history to lead the team in both scoring and rebounding last season and she is pacing the Ramblers in both categories again this year (16.8/8.5). Law was playing some of the best basketball of her career, racking up three double-doubles in five games, before missing six games with a finger injury. However, she picked up right where she left off, pouring in 25 points vs Cleveland State in her first game back and is averaging 23.8 ppg and 6.8 rpg in six games since returning, including a career-high 29 points on Monday in the rematch with the Vikings
This Taylor Is A Great Fit
In freshman Taylor Johnson, it appears that Loyola's tradition of strong guard play will continue for the foreseeable future. Johnson burst on the scene with 26 points against Southern Illinois and she has been solid ever since. She finished with 12 points and 10 steals - one shy of LU single-game record - in just 20 minutes against Chicago State and has racked up four traditional double-doubles in Horizon League play, including her 33-point, 11-rebound, seven-assist, five-steal virtuoso performance against Milwaukee. Johnson finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday against Youngstown State and has upped her game in conference play, averaging 17.8 points and 7.5 rebounds against League opponents
Better On The Boards
Despite the heavy schedule of late, one thing that Loyola has done better of late has been rebound the basketball. The Ramblers have outrebounded each of their last two opponents, including a +9 margin on Monday at Cleveland State, just the third and fourth times they have won the rebounding battle this season. Loyola is 4-0 this season when outrebounding its opponent and 25-2 (.926) under Simpson
Protecting The Pumpkin
One thing that Loyola has done tremendously well this season has been protect the basketball. The Ramblers are averaging just 11.6 turnovers per game thus far, a figure that puts them second in the country behind Villanova (11.0) heading into tonight's game. Loyola has been even sharper in Horizon League play, averaging just 10.9 turnovers in 13 games, and the Ramblers have turned the ball over more than their opponent just twice in 26 contests, helping them rise to 10th in the country in assist/turnover ratio
70 Will Suffice
Every team seemingly has a magic number of points to score to win games and it seems as if 70 is the number for Loyola. After their 72-67 win over Cleveland State, the Ramblers are now 30-3 (.909) under Simpson when scoring at least 70 points and 23-61 (.274) when they fail to reach that plateau. Thus far, Loyola is averaging 73.2 ppg in its wins compared to 59.2 ppg in defeat
Fab Five
In part due to the early-season absence of Troy Hambric and then the six-game loss of Simone Law, Loyola really struggled to find a cohesive and consistent starting five. In fact, the Ramblers went through 13 different lineups in their first 21 games before riding the first five of Hambric, Law, Albano, Beavers and Johnson to five straight wins. Johnson remains the only LU player to start all 26 games
