Dec. 10, 1999

Box Score

Chicago, Ill. ? UIC?s Melea Clark scored 16 of her career-high 23 points in the first half, pacing the Flames to a 82-75 victory at Ball State Friday night.

Clark?s 16 first-half points helped erase an early eight point Cardinal? advantage and pulled the Flames to within one, 38-37, at the break. She then sparked a 10-0 UIC run to start the second stanza, scoring five points in the span.

The Flames built a nine point second-half edge, only to see Ball State rally to regain the lead 58-57 with eight minutes left in the game. UIC didn?t back down, though, reeling off seven straight points to take a lead they would never relinquish.

The Flames, who didn?t shoot a single free throw in the first half, got to a charity stripe a season-high 26 times in the second half, hitting 20 of those attempts to help put the game away.

Amanda Bartz (17 points), Kimberly Henry (11 points) and LeKesha Williams (10 points) all joined Clark with double-figure scoring totals, while Henry led UIC with nine rebounds.

Tamara Bowie led Ball State (5-3), notching a double-double with a game-high 25 points, on 10-for-18 shooting, and 13 rebounds.

With the win, the Flames improve to 5-2 on year, matching the five wins they tallied all of last season. UIC continues its four-game road swing on Tuesday, Dec. 14, in Jamaica, N.Y., versus St. John?s. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CST.