March 1, 2012
Final Stats 
CHICAGO - Sophomore Emily Kobel hit the two biggest shots of her young career in Thursday night's, 59-52, victory over Milwaukee inside the UIC Pavilion. With 2:38 left to play and the Flames down by five, Kobel drained back-to-back treys in a 38-second span, giving UIC the, 53-52, go-ahead lead. The Flames sank crucial foul shots down the stretch to pull out the win and in doing so clinched the four seed in the Horizon League Tournament.
"Emily (Kobel) came up big tonight," said head coach Regina Miller. "We have confidence in her to make those types of shots and she stepped up and did just that."
Earning the four seed was vital because it means that UIC will host the five seed in the quarterfinal round next Wednesday night. Butler secured the fifth spot on Thursday evening as they lost to Detroit by a final score of 57-52.
"We're thrilled about hosting a game in the Horizon League Tournament," said Miller.
With the win, UIC improves to 17-11 overall and 10-7 in the conference. Seventeen victories place Miller in a tie for the program record for most wins by a first-year head coach. The original mark was set by Lisa Ryckbosch back in 2002-03.
Senior Shamiea Green guided the Flames tonight with 15 points and seven assists, while senior Kiara Strickland chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds. UWM's Ashley green tallied a game-high 18 points on 8-of-14 field goal shooting.
At the start of the contest, UIC relied on its "big three" as seniors Jasmine Bailey, Green and Strickland scored the Flames' first 11 points. After two three pointers by Kobel and Junior Taylor Foulks, the momentum seemed to favor UIC as they led, 21-14, with 9:12 remaining in the first half.
The Panthers clawed their way back into game and knotted the score at 23-23, eventually taking their first lead of the night, 26-25, on a trey by UWM sophomore Sami Tucker.
The Flames were without the services of their leading scorer Bailey for the final 11:23 of the first half as she picked up three early fouls.
After starting the game 7-of-10 from the field, UIC ended the first half shooting 4-of-14, experiencing a three-and-a-half minute scoring drought before heading into the locker room.
Milwaukee held the first half advantage, 28-26, and UWM's Green piloted all scorers with 10 points. UIC's Green paced the Flames with seven points, while Foulks and Strickland each had six.
The beginning of the second half witnessed a back-and-forth affair as Milwaukee still held a two-point advantage with 15:20 on the clock. The Panthers increased their lead to six over the next two minutes and eventually owned a 48-39 edge over the Flames with just 6:46 left to play.
Over the next two minutes, UIC rallied and came within three points of Milwaukee on two separate occasions. The run didn't come without a cost as Bailey picked up her fifth foul at the 5:11 mark and UWM widened its lead to 52-47 with 2:48 on the clock.
That's when Kobel went to work and the Flames held strong in the final minutes to secure the win.
UIC's next game will be its final regular season contest on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT against league-leading No. 11/11 Green Bay. The four seniors on UIC's team will be honored before the contest.
