Jan. 21, 2012
Final Stats 
CHICAGO - The UIC women's basketball team picked up its third straight win in a 54-43 victory over Valparaiso on Saturday night inside the UIC Pavilion. The Flames improve to 12-7 overall and 5-3 in the Horizon League, while the Crusaders drop to 5-13, 1-6.
Senior Jasmine Bailey recorded a game-high 19 points and 13 rebounds, while seniors Kiara Strickland and Shamiea Green dropped in 16 and 14, respectively.
"I'm glad we got the win," said head coach Regina Miller. "This is the time of the season where we need to keep improving from game to game and we did not do that tonight."
The Flames began the contest with a 7-0 run on balanced scoring from three separate players. Valparaiso had offensive troubles in the opening minutes and finally put up its first points at the 16:48 mark.
UIC held a comfortable lead throughout most of the first half, however the Crusaders pulled within four points with 5:35 on the clock as part of a 5-0 Valpo spurt.
The Flames ultimately extended their lead out to 25-15 with 3:30 left in the first period as senior Kiara Strickland swished a 10-footer from the left baseline. After three scoreless minutes, Foulks drilled her lone three of the game, giving UIC the 28-15 edge at the break.
At the half, Bailey led all scorers with 10 points, while Strickland and Green added eight and seven, respectively. The Crusaders were paced by Ashley Timmerman with eight tallies.
Both teams struggled to find the hoop in the opening 20 minutes as UIC shot 37.9 percent from the field, while Valparaiso totaled 25 percent.
UIC reached its first 20-point lead on the wings of a 10-0 run at the 14:25 mark of the second half.
Valpo cut the Flame's lead down to 15 with 8:57 left in the game on jumper from senior Ashley Varner, but Bailey quickly retaliated with a three ball on the next possession.
Refusing to go away quietly, the Crusaders sliced into UIC's advantage at the 4:50 mark, making the score 48-35 on a Timmerman trey.
UIC set the throttle on cruise control for the rest of the contest as Valpo was able to cut the Flame's lead down to 54-43 with 17 seconds on the clock, which proved to be the final count.
The Flames return to action on Saturday, Jan. 28 as they travel to cross-town rival Loyola for a 2 p.m. CT affair.
