Nov. 23, 2009

Box Score

CHICAGO, Ill. - Loyola rallied to a 19-point lead by halftime and glided to an 85-66 victory over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in women's college basketball.

SIUE, 1-4, now travels to New Mexico for the Aggie Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic to take on New Mexico State on Friday and Stephen F. Austin on Saturday.

Loyola, 3-1, jumped out to a great start with 60 percent shooting in the first half, including 7 of 11 three-pointers.

"They shot the ball well throughout the game," noted SIUE Coach Amanda Levens.

The Cougars and the Ramblers played an even second half as Madison Meade powered SIUE with 16 points. Meade, Danielle Bennett and Melia Duncan each hit three three-pointers to account for SIUE's nine treys. Bennett and Duncan scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Meade posted her biggest game so far of the season and hopefully will continue to provide more scoring for the Cougar offense despite getting off to a slow start for the season. "When you are a shooter, you have to keep shooting," said Levens.

Loyola finished with four players in double figures led by 12 from Maggie McCloskey off the bench.

The Cougars were down 16-13 early in the first half and held tough through a 9-0 run by the Ramblers. Loyola seemed to have an answer for every three-pointer SIUE made, finishing with 12 of its own for the game.

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