A smothering defense held defending Horizon League regular-season champion Valparaiso (10-5, 0-1 Horizon) to 36 percent (20 for 56) shooting as Loyola University Chicago (10-3, 1-0 Horizon) won its fourth straight game with a 63-54 victory over the Crusaders tonight at the Athletics-Recreation Center. The win is also Loyola's third in a row on the road.

Loyola saw host Marquette go on a 17-3 run midway through the second half to pull away as the Golden Eagles handed the Ramblers a 77-61 setback tonight at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, Wis. Monica Albano had a team-high 19 points to lead the Ramblers (4-7) while Marquette improves to 7-5 on the season.

Cully Payne scored a season-high 24 points and added four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals, to help Loyola University Chicago (9-3) rally from a nine-point deficit and earn a hard-fought 69-61 victory over DePaul (9-4) at Allstate Arena this afternoon. The win snaps the Ramblers' 11-game losing skid versus their city rival and gives them their first victory in the series since 1989.

Loyola opens its busiest stretch of the non-conference season tonight (Dec. 29) when it takes on Marquette at the Al McGuire Center. Tonight's game is the first of three in the next calendar week for the Ramblers, who will host Eastern Illinois (Jan. 2) and travel to Eastern Michigan (Jan. 5)

When senior forward Ben Averkamp first arrived at Loyola in 2009, he had already made quite a name for himself both on and off the court at Germantown High School in Germantown, Wis.

Freshman Taylor Johnson and sophomore Simone Law each posted double-doubles, albeit in different ways, as Loyola breezed into the holiday break with an 81-43 win over Chicago State this afternoon at Gentile Arena. The Ramblers improve to 4-6 with the win and send the Cougars to 1-11 on the season with the loss.

Ben Averkamp scored a team-high 17 points and hit all 13 of his attempts from the free throw line as Loyola University Chicago (8-3) shook off a slow start and overcame an 11-point, second-half deficit to earn a 54-49 victory over host Saint Peter's (5-6) this afternoon at the Yanitelli Center. The win is the Ramblers' sixth in the last seven outings.

Loyola gave visiting DePaul all it could handle for 30 minutes before the visitors slowly pulled away to earn an 87-69 win over the Ramblers tonight at Gentile Arena. Loyola slips to 3-6 with the loss while DePaul moves to 9-3 with the win.

Regardless of where your loyalties lie, the most important college basketball game in Chicago this season will be played at Loyola University's Gentile Arena on Saturday, when the Ramblers host the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Loyola and Mississippi State will celebrate an important part of their past when the teams square off Saturday for the first time since the famous Game of Change 50 years ago. Loyola is looking to win for the fifth time in the last six outings. The Bulldogs are the first SEC team to play the Ramblers on their home court since South Carolina on December 6, 1984.