Despite falling to Nazareth Academy this past Saturday, senior Zuri Ransom’s return coming into Tuesday evening’s matchup in Beardsley Gym with undefeated Loyola had all eyes set on a strong performance for the Kits. While Evanston shined in nearly every aspect, Loyola’s last second magic and a confusing officiating move put an end to the Kits’ hopes at an upset.
The Ramblers’ Clare Weasler scored a buzzer-beater layup off an inbound pass with 0.8 seconds remaining in the game to give Loyola a 65-63 win, keeping the Ramblers incredible 27-0 record intact while extending the Kits’ losing streak to nine games.
How Loyola received 0.8 seconds, however, is a mystery. The IHSA adopted a rule in 2021-2022 where the game clock only stops if a player is hurt, a timeout is called, or there is an error situation. The Ramblers received the ball back after a rebound made its way out of bounds, which should not have stopped the clock. Evanston head coach Brittany Johnson was furious by the situation and never received an explanation from the officiating crew.
“I’m still trying to get an explanation about what happened and why the [Ramblers] got the ball with 0.8 seconds,” Johnson stated. “I don’t think we handled the inbound ball well because we were all focused on what was happening and not necessarily [that] play.”
Evanston played well on both offense and defense in the first half, but the Ramblers led 34-28 at the break. In the second half, the Kits came out with a new spark. Quick three-pointers by Ransom and senior Kailey Starks kept the Kits in the game. However, Loyola answered with multiple threes by Loyola’s Aubrey Galvan, giving the Ramblers a 51-47 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The score would stay close throughout the fourth quarter. The game looked destined for overtime after Ransom scored to tie the game at 63, but the only extra time that night was the .8 seconds put back on the clock, allowing Loyola to score the game-winning basket.
Although ETHS couldn’t quite grasp the win against Loyola, the Kits gave solid effort when playing one of the best teams in Illinois. “Quick easy layups and getting our momentum up” is what held Evanston’s score so close to Loyola, according to Ransom.
Looking to improve their conference and snap the nine game losing streak, the Kits take on the Maine South Hawks on Friday, January 26 at 7 p.m. in Beardsley Gym.
“Even though we lost, our hard work and effort against this team will help us against Maine South,” Ransom said. “It’s also senior night, and we have all the elements that we need going into the game, we just need to keep our composure.”
The senior trio of Starks, Ransom and Arianna Milam-Pryor reflected that, with all three combining to score 84 percent of the 62 points scored for Evanston.
“We had a lot of players step up and make plays,” Johnson said. “We have some positives to playing one of the best teams in the state, and we will take that into the game against Maine South.”
