Chicago — The Chicago State women's basketball team opened the 2020-21 season with a 70-57 loss to Loyola University Chicago at the Jones Convocation Center on the campus of Chicago State. The game marked the head coaching debut of Cougars head coach
Tiffany Sardin.
In the first quarter
Nadia Thorman-McKey (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) made four of her first five attempts for eight points.
Ana Haklicka (Dubrovnik, Croatia/Touristic and Catering School ) scored seven, including the team's only first-quarter three-pointer, to build a 15-11 lead.
Loyola then connected on back-to-back three pointers early in the second quarter to cut into the four-point deficit then take a short-lived 19-17 lead. Haklicka converted a pair of free throws and
Wynter Webb (Atlanta, GA/Mill Creek ) splashed a layup to regain the advantage, 21-19. The rest of the quarter belonged to the Ramblers who ended the half with a 16-2 run, including the last 12 points of the quarter, to take a 35-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
A 10-point Ramblers run in the third quarter extended Loyola's lead to 50-27. Chicago State then closed the quarter with a seven-point run on a Thorman-McKey layup, a
Laura Segues (Castelloli, Spain) three pointer and Webb converted a driving layup as time expired to cut into the lead and the third quarter ended with Loyola leading 54-35.
Trailing 64-40 with 7:06 remaining in the contest, the Cougars went on an 11-2 run to cut into the lead. CSU had four players contribute to the spurt with
Laura Segues (Castelloli, Spain) connecting on a three, Thorman-McKey accounting for four points, Webb two, and Haklicka two.
Loyola held on for a 70-57 victory.
In her Chicago State debut, Thorman-McKey led all scorers with 19 points while also pulling down five boards. Haklicka racked up 13 points, also adding four assists and seven rebounds.
Next:
- Who? DePaul Blue Demons
- Where? Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
- When? Monday, November 30, 2020, 2:00 p.m. CDT
