Terri Bender registered 7 assists in her final game in her hometown, giving her sole possession of second place all-time at UIC.  But the Flames (3-15, 0-7 HL) could not dig themselves out of an early hole in an 83-55 loss to Milwaukee (13-5, 5-2 HL) Tuesday evening at the Klotsche Center.

UIC made their first four shots of the second half from a variety of locations, and three of them were assisted by Bender.  This was the stretch that put her ahead of Joanne McCarthy and behind only Chrissy Dizon in UIC history.  The Milwaukee native capped the third quarter with a 40-foot shot that hit nothing but net on her way to a nine point performance.

UIC kept up the high energy and high efficiency throughout the second half.  They shot 52% and put up 38 points after halftime.  This was in stark contrast to a first half in which they shot just 25% and saw Milwaukee race out to a lead they would not relinquish.

Brittany Byrd scored 11 points and had a game high 10 rebounds to put together her second straight double-double. Taylor Toney matched her scoring output on 5-for-9 shooting, along with 6 rebounds. 

It was a slow start for the Flames.  Milwaukee converted a three point play following two offensive rebounds on the same possession, giving them a 7-0 lead.  Tyra Carlsten-Handberg converted a layup on a nicely executed out of bounds set, but that would be the only field goal the Flames made in their first nine attempts.  The Panthers held a 17-6 lead after one quarter.

The Flames didn't get much more traction in the second quarter.  Milwaukee started the period on a 9-2 run, forcing Regina Miller to spend a timeout in an effort to slow the momentum.  This was a virtual carbon copy of their 11-2 run to open the game, also leading to a Flames timeout.  Byrd brought some energy off the bench with five second quarter rebounds.  Twelve first half turnovers led to 15 Panther points, as the Flames never got into an offensive rhythm.

Jenny Lindner paced four Panthers in double figures with 17 points and had 8 rebounds.  The Flames did hold Sierra Ford-Washington to just four points, eight below her season average, and were within one rebound (38-37) of the Panthers, who held the Horizon League's highest rebounding margin entering play.

Tylah Lampley provided a late highlight with an offensive rebound that she drove to the rim for a reverse layup.  She had a Horizon League-season high four rebounds altogether and her 14 valuable minutes nearly doubled her previous high in conference play.

UIC will return home Friday evening for a tilt with Wright State, which will start a five game homestand.