Nov. 21, 2000

Box Score

Chicago, Ill. - Chicago State's Krisey Sanders banked in a game-winning 35-footer at the buzzer Tuesday night as the Cougars upset the UIC women's basketball team, 52-49, at the Jacoby D.Dickens Center.

Sanders' improbable shot helped snap Chicago State's 29-game losing streak as the Cougars improved to 1-2 on the year. With the loss, the Flames are now 0-2.

"You have to give credit to Chicago State," UIC Head Coach Tim Eatman remarked after the game. "They fought hard all night long. I thought we played hard, but we didn't do the little things we needed to win the game. We are getting better, though, and hopefully it will show a little better this weekend."

Last season, the Flames were 12-3 when leading at the half. This year has been a different story, though, as UIC squandered its second-straight halftime advantage Tuesday night.

Senior Amanda Bartz hit four three-pointers in the first half with her fourth staking UIC to a 28-14 lead with 2:45 left in the stanza. The Flames' offense bogged down from there, though, as Chicago State would close out the first half on a 6-0 run to trim UIC's lead to eight, 28-20, heading into intermission.

The Cougars carried their run over into the second half as they reeled off eight-straight points to open the period, knotting the game at 28-28. All in all, UIC combined to 8:41 without a bucket as Chicago State scored 14 unanswered.

The Flames got back on track midway though the second half and rebuilt a six-point edge, 36-30, but, once again, Chicago State fought back and eventually evened the score, 38-38. The two teams remained close the rest of the way with UIC owning the largest lead over the last six minutes, 47-43 with 1:57 left.

Krisey Sanders took over from there, making four big plays in the last two minutes to guide the Cougars to their first win in almost a year. With 1:46 remaining, the sophomore knocked down her third trey of the game to pull Chicago State to within one, 47-46. Then, with 0:56 left and the Cougars trailing by two, 49-47, she fought her way into the lane and rebounded a missed free throw by teammate Siobahn Dantzler to help CSU retain possession. Following a timeout, Sanders penetrated from the left side and drew the attention of the Flames' defense away from Dantzler, who she found with a nifty pass for a wide-open lay-up to tie the game, 49-49, with 0:38 remaining.

UIC dribbled the clock down to 0:20 and called timeout to set up a play for sophomore Jaysie Chambers. But when Chambers tried to drive the lane, she lost possession and the ball was eventually recovered by Chicago State's Loretta Ellul, who quickly called for a timeout with 11 ticks left on the clock.

With the Flames pressuring the ball as it was being brought up the court, it looked for a moment as though the Cougars were not going to be able to get a shot off. As the clock hit 0:05, CSU center Jodie Kammes, who was standing at the top of the key, tossed the ball to Sanders. The 5-foot-9 guard took a dribble and with a UIC defender in her face fired up a shot off her back foot from the left wing. The ball kissed off the glass just as the horn sounded and splashed through the net, setting off a jubilant celebration at center court.

The loss spoiled a 15-point effort from UIC's Amanda Bartz, who drained a season-best five three-pointers. LeKesha Williams was also strong, adding 12 points, six rebounds and four steals while junior Stesha Rhodes chipped in with 11 points and six boards.

Chicago State had four players score in double figures on Tuesday, led by Dantzler's game-high 16 points. Sanders' game-winner gave her 15 points on the evening while Kammes dropped in 10 and Ellul scored 11.

The Flames will look for their first win of the season on Friday, November 24, as take on South Alabama at 7:00 p.m., in the opening round of the 2nd annual UIC Home Run Inn Thanksgiving Tournament at the UIC Pavilion.