Nov. 6, 2001

Final Stats

Chicago, Ill. - The first competition of any basketball season can expect to be filled with fouls, mistakes and miscommunication.

For the UIC women's basketball team and their opponent, NWBL USA Elite, this trend held true.

However for the Flames, tenacious defense and timely transition offense overcame the miscues, as they defeated NWBL 78-62 at the UIC Pavilion Tuesday night.

"It was a solid team effort tonight," said Flames head coach Tim Eatman. "We've still got a long way to go, but we're a lot further along at this point than we have been in past seasons."

The Flames, with seven returnees and a heralded freshman class, started out slow, but gradually made their presence felt.

It was a veteran first, as senior guard Josie Cole scored six of the Flames first 21 points, on a rebound and put-back, a driving lay-up and a pair of free throws.

Then it was a newcomer making her mark, as JUCO transfer Zsuzsa Tarnai buried a pair of three-pointers late in the half to help give the Flames a commanding 38-20 lead at the break.

"I thought we played hard," Eatman said. "I don't think we gave up too many transition baskets, which is something we were focusing on."

It was more of the same in the second half, as the Flames sustained their lead. Senior Stesha Rhodes kept the heat on, scoring seven of her 12 points in the second frame.

UIC's opponent, NWBL USA Elite, was no pushover. Led by former Rutgers star Kourtney Walton, NWBL came equipped with 10 former college standouts. Siobahn Dantzler (Chicago State) and Kameelah Morgan (Indiana) led NWBL with 11 points apiece. Walton chipped in with eight points and four assists.

Cole led the Flames with 17 points, with Rhodes and LeKesha Williams (10 points) also in double-figures.

The Flames will play one more exhibition game on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 5:00 p.m. versus the Chicago Challengers before opening the regular season on Friday, Nov. 16 versus Columbia at the Flames Athletic Center at 7:00 p.m.