The UIC Flames will finish the second leg of their road trip against Central Michigan Saturday afternoon.  UIC will be looking to finish the trip against their two MAC foes at 1-1 after losing to Toledo Thursday evening.

Against Toledo, Melita Emanuel-Carr scored a season high 15 points and Taylor Toney and Laura Litchfield each set career highs with 12 and 10 points, respectively.  However, the remainder of the squad shot just 5-for-27 and the Flames committed a season high 32 turnovers.

Head coach Regina Miller will try to get her charges to reverse those trends against Central Michigan.  "We need to hit our shots, get to the free throw line, and manage possessions well," she said.  The Flames are averaging 14 made free throws per game, but CMU is only committing 14.7 fouls per contest, the fewest in the MAC.

Toney did not see action the first three games, but got 26 minutes of floor time against IUPUI and started for the first time in her career at Toledo.  In her two games, she is averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds and has given the Flames a spark.

Bender Tied For Fifth in All-Time Steals

Terri Bender's two steals against Toledo moved her even with Briana Hinkle on UIC's all-time list: 1. Penny Armstrong (1991-95).....427 2. Chrissy Dixon (2002-06)...........259 3. Jasmine Bailey (20088-12).......258   Tasia Georganas (1989-93).......258 4. Joanne McCarthy (1992-97).....257 5. Terri Bender (2012-pr.)...........224   Briana Hinkle (2006-11)............224 7. Taylor Foulks (2009-13)............218

Central Michigan enters Saturday with a 5-2 record.  They have won four straight games and have four players averaging over 10 points per game.  The Chippewas were unanimously selected to repeat as MAC West Division champions and placed two players on the preseason All-MAC West team.

They defeated Loyola, 95-57 their last time out.  Presley Hudson went for 29 points including 6-of-11 on threes.  The Chippewas shot a blistering 50.7% and scored nearly half (42) of their points in the paint.  Reyna Frost corralled 15 rebounds.
It will be a rematch of last year's contest at the UIC Pavilion, which UIC won 66-63 in exciting comeback fashion.  Emanuel-Carr had eight points, a career high nine assists, and five rebounds against the Chippewas.  Frost logged a double-double with 12 points and 17 rebounds.  The win pulled UIC to within a game of CMU in the all-time series, which currently stands at 5-4 in favor of the Chippewas.

The current road trip will prepare the Flames for what's to come in conference play.  "Recovery after Thursday will be important," Coach Miller said, "since we're getting a good early look at what we can expect in the Horizon League," which will send the Flames on three Thursday-Saturday road trips.

"It's a challenge to have two games away, but it will help us figure out how to win on the road and help for Horizon League play."