Nov. 30, 2000

Box Score

Peoria, Ill. - Not much went in the favor of the University of Illinois at Chicago women's basketball team in their nonconference battle with the Bradley Braves on Thursday night.

In fact, Bradley held the Flames to the lowest total by a Braves opponent since the 1989-90 season against Southwest Missouri State as they emerged with a 57-44 victory.

Bradley (2-2) held UIC's top two leading scorers LeKesha Williams (4 points) and Amanda Bartz (3 points) in check as the duo was held to a combined seven points for the night.

Sophomore forward Jaysie Chambers and junior forward Stesha Rhodes led the way for the Flames (1-4) with 12 points apiece.

"We played hard," UIC head coach Tim Eatman said. "But we just weren't tough enough tonight."

Bradley guard Sara Bailey scored a game-high 27 points (11-12 FT) and grabbed eight rebounds while teammate Jennifer Jolley chipped in 17 points.

The Braves opened up the game in commanding fashion as they built a 14-2 lead over the first nine minutes of the game. Bailey led the charge with seven points during that span.

"We were very lethargic to start the game," Eatman said. "We made a lot of mistakes. We didn't catch the ball and our passing was horrible."

The Flames, behind Rhodes (7 points) cut the gap to 25-22 with 2:53 remaining in the opening half.

UIC was within striking distance as Bradley held onto a 41-38 lead. The momentum quickly swung in the Braves direction as Williams missed a lay-up to cut the lead to one with 10:12 remaining in the game.

The Braves took control and went on a 10-0 run to secure the victory.

Eatman said he will give his squad a rest in order to prepare for finals.

"We're going to give them a couple of days off," Eatman said. "We'll come back and work a little harder and try to get better."

The Flames will be off until December 10th when they will travel to College Station, Texas to take on the Texas A&M Aggies at 2:00 PM.