CHICAGO - The Purdue University Northwest women's basketball team fell 80-61 in Friday's exhibition opener against Division I opponent Loyola University Chicago, which was played without fans at Gentile Arena.

Freshman Dash Shaw led the Pride with 16 points on 7-of-13 (54%) shooting in 19 minutes off the bench. The Crown Point native recorded 11 points in just six minutes of action before halftime and logged two steals on the night.

Additionally, sophomore Savaya Brockington finished with 11 points, three steals and two boards while freshman Ce'Niyah Hampton chipped in with eight points and three rebounds. Freshman Mercedes Simmons grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and scored five points. All 13 players saw playing time Friday night including two more freshmen making their debuts, Antreese Shelton and Julia Fitzwater.

PNW was limited to just under 32-percent shooting while making only four treys on 21 attempts from beyond the arc. A positive takeaway from the off-shooting night is that the Pride's bench outscored the Loyola reserves 40-25 in the contest. PNW also won the turnover battle, 15-11. Loyola shot 45 percent overall from the field and dominated the glass with a 51-34 edge in rebounds.

GAME SUMMARY
Early on, PNW absorbed a 12-0 deficit to start the game by trimming the deficit back down to four before a Loyola bucket at the end of the period made it 18-12. The host Ramblers kept the momentum going from their strong start and rattled off another suffocating run to start the second quarter, holding PNW scoreless for four-and-a-half minutes, and eventually grabbing a 20-point lead midway through the period.

The Pride would never recover as the deficit remained in double digits the rest of the way. But if you take away the second quarter, Loyola's lead was only six points combined over 30 minutes and PNW outscored the Ramblers 19-14 in the fourth quarter. Hampton led the way by logging all eight of her points in the final period.

Loyola's Allison Day led all scorers with 18 points on a perfect 6 of 6 from the field and grabbed nine boards. Three others scored in double figures for the Ramblers including Sitori Tanin with 13 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two assists. Sam Galanopoulos and Maya Chandler each posted 11 points.

UP NEXT
PNW will host Michigan Tech in the GLIAC regular season opener on Friday, Jan. 8.