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CHICAGO – Eastern Illinois turned the ball over 16 times leading to 12 Loyola-Chicago points as the Ramblers walked away with a 63-52 win over the Panthers on Saturday afternoon at the Gentile Arena.
EIU drops to 2-4 on the year and will host Omaha next Friday at 6 p.m. in Lantz Arena. Loyola improved to 2-3.
The Panthers were cold from the field to open the game as
Phylicia Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 13:17 to play for their first field goal.  The Ramblers answered with a 3-pointer by Bailey Farley.
Johnson made her second 3-pointer of the game with 11:40 to play in the first half to bring EIU to within two points at 12-10. Johnson would finish with 11 points for the Panthers.Â
Taylor Johnson would hit a pair of lay-ups as Loyola went on an 11-0 run to lead 21-10. Johnson had 16 points to lead all players. Loyola shot 43 percent in the opening half to lead 35-22. EIU shot 28 percent for the game.
The Panthers missed their first three shots of the second half as Loyola extended the lead to 18 points with 19:06 left to play. EIU was able to stay within striking distance with good defense and by getting to the free throw line. EIU hit 15-of-20 from the stripe in the second half and 23-of-30 for the game.
Sabina Oroszova had 11 points and 17 rebounds scoring seven points at the free throw line. Â
Erica Brown had seven points all at the free throw line. Her free throws with 4:21 to play cut Loyola's lead to 54-46.Â
EIU would turn it over two times on the next two possessions as they could not get closer than eight points. Becca Smith made three free throws in the final four minutes to finish with 13 points. Destiny Washington had 13 points and nine rebounds.
Chicago native
Bh'rea Griffin hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for EIU's final points as she finished with seven points.Â