Nov. 17, 2009
Loyola (1-0) at Western Michigan (0-2)
University Arena - Kalamazoo, Mich.
Thursday, November 19, 2009 - 6 p.m. CT
Loyola/Western Michigan Game Notes in PDF Format 
Tonight's Game
Loyola looks for its first 2-0 start since the 2001-02 season when it takes on Western Michigan tonight (Nov. 19) in Kalamazoo, Mich. The Ramblers enjoyed a 19-point lead with six minutes left in its opener against St. Xavier last Sunday only to have to hang on for a 69-64 win. The Broncos lost a pair of close games last weekend at the Sheraton Raleigh Wolfpack Invitational, falling to Vermont in the opener before getting dumped by Florida International in overtime in the finale.
The Western Michigan Series
Tonight is the fourth meeting between the two schools, with Western Michigan winning two of the previous three meetings. Amazingly, the schools have not met since the 1997-98 season (Dec. 13, 1997), when the Ramblers came away with a 69-60 victory in Kalamazoo for their only win in the series. Western Michigan won each of the first two meetings, including a 76-75 win in the only meeting in the Windy City.
Familiar Faces in Familiar Places...
There are high expectations in Rogers Park this season as Loyola returns all five starters and 12 letterwinners from last year's team. In fact, the Ramblers return 99% of both their scoring and rebounding, as their two-person graduating class last season contributed a total of 14 points and five rebounds all season. This season, Loyola will lean heavily on its five-person senior class that has started a combined 229 games during their tenure.
MAC Matchup
Tonight is the first of three games for Loyola against Mid-American Conference foes this season. The Ramblers are 14-19 all-time against current MAC teams, with 16 of those games coming against former conference mate Northern Illinois. Incredibly, Loyola had played just one MAC foe (Central Michigan last season) since the start of the 2005-06 season and have won its last three games against MAC teams.
Bodensteiner In Beijing
After wrapping up her collegiate playing career at Stanford, first-year assistant coach Clare Bodensteiner competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics for New Zealand. The Kiwis were eliminated from medal contention in the group stages with a loss to the United States.
Maggie And Milestones
Senior guard Maggie McCloskey enters the 2009-10 season on the cusp of a pair of personal milestones, as she sits 16 points shy of 1,000 for her career and is five three-pointers away from equaling Ciara Henderson's Loyola record. McCloskey would become the 19th Rambler to reach the 1,000-point plateau (and first since Jenna Real during the 2006-07 season).
Elyse Looking To Eclipse 1,000 As Well
Like Maggie McCloskey, senior Elyse VanBogaert is also in line to reach 1,000 career points this season as the Elburn, Ill. native sits just 150 points short after an 18-point performance in Loyola's opener. Should both players accomplish the feat, they would be the sixth set of classmates to be inducted into the 1,000 Point Club at Loyola and first since Marquise Hanser and Jenna Real reached the milestone during the 2006-07 season. Should VanBogaert maintain her 2008-09 scoring average of 12.2 points per game, it will take her 13 more games to score the necessary 150 points.
Keisha On Point In Opener
If Sunday was any indication, senior point guard Keisha Collins is primed to make her final season her best, as she delivered an 18-point, seven-rebound, five-assist performance against St. Xavier. Collins, who was hobbled by a lingering ankle injury last season, showed some old explosiveness, getting to the free throw line 11 times while also using penetration to set up her teammates.
Road Kill
One area that Loyola is aiming to improve this season is its performance on the road. The Ramblers were 4-12 away from home last season and are just 17-70 (24.3%) on the road over the last six seasons.
Never Underestimate The Importance Of A Good Start
One gauge for forecasting the outcome of Loyola's games lately has been its first-half performance. Last season, the Ramblers were 7-5 when leading at the half but an abysmal 1-15 when entering the locker room trailing. Slow starts leading to losses has been a trend in Rogers Park over the last few seasons, as LU is just 1-35 when trailing at the half over the last two seasons (81-63 win over Robert Morris last year) and 3-100 the last 103 times in which its been behind after 20 minutes.
Doin' Fine From 19'9''
Led by Maggie McCloskey's 78, Loyola knocked down 158 shots from behind the three-point line last year. Despite an off-shooting night (3-17 3FGs) on Sunday, the Ramblers were able to keep intact a streak that has seen them hit at least one three-pointer in 363 consecutive games dating back to March, 1996, when they were blanked from the arc in their season-ending loss to Green Bay (Mar. 7, 1996).
Once A Decade
Elyse VanBogaert is coming off a solid junior season in which she led Loyola in scoring (12.2 ppg) and rebounding (5.7 rpg). In fact, VanBogaert became the first Rambler since Tonya Crum (1998-99) to lead the team in both categories in the same season. She got the 2009-10 season off to a rousing start, scoring 18 points in 22 minutes off the bench, just her third appearance as a substitute since her freshman season.
This Monica Makes String Music
Freshman Monica Albano arrived in Rogers Park with an impressive offensive pedigree and she showed off some of the skills that helped her score over 2,000 career points at Trinity High School in Loyola's opener. Albano found herself in the starting lineup and finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes in her debut, marking the second straight season a LU freshman scored in double figures in their first game (Ayoub, 10 points at Bradley last season).
Two Straight Would Be Great
Loyola takes the floor tonight looking for its second straight win to open the season. The Ramblers have not started 2-0 since the 2001-02 season (knocking off Columbia and Chicago State) and, remarkably, have just two 2-0 starts in their 30-year history, with the other coming in their first year of competition (1979-80).
