March 7, 2015
Box Score
CLEVELAND - The UIC women's basketball team (16-13, 6-10 HL) ended the regular season Saturday afternoon with a 58-46 defeat at Cleveland State (18-11, 10-6 HL). The Flames earned the No. 6 seed of the Horizon League Tournament and will play at No. 3 Cleveland State Wednesday in the Quarterfinals.
The Flames held CSU to 26 percent shooting in the first half but the Vikings drained seven three-pointers in the second half, including four by Kiersten Green. CSU finished 10-of-22 from beyond the arc.
The Vikings scored 13 points off UIC's 21 turnovers and picked up 17 steals overall. CSU grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and tallied 14 second-chance points.
The Flames owned a 39-33 advantage on the boards and outscored the Vikings 26-14 in the paint. UIC has outrebounded 25 out of 29 opponents this season. The Flames made a season-high 90 percent of their free throws (10-of-11).
"We had an excellent opportunity to run away with the game when Cleveland State was not making shots in the first half," said UIC head coach Regina Miller. "Unfortunately, we did not take care of the ball or convert their missed shots into points. Their three seniors took over the game in the second half and we did not make enough plays offensively."
Ruvanna Campbell collected her fourth straight double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Campbell, who ranks third nationally with 14.3 rebounds per contest, owns 22 double-doubles this season. She also picked up four steals for the first time since Jan. 27 against Valparaiso.
Kendyl Nunn scored eight points off the bench and grabbed 10 caroms for her third double-digit rebounding performance. She also collected two of UICs 10 steals.
Caitlin Garant was efficient from the floor as she finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. Melita Emanuel-Carr pitched in eight points and two assists.
UIC jumped out to a 6-0 advantage and CSU did not score until the 14:12 mark in the first half. The Flames held their largest lead of the contest at 14-7 but the Vikings responded with a 9-2 run to tie the score at 16-16. Gisselle Truiett's free throws with seven seconds before halftime tied the score at 24-24 going into the break.
The Vikings started the second half on an 8-0 run and would not relinquish their lead. UIC used a 6-0 run to narrow CSU's lead to 52-44 with 4:44 remaining but the Vikings responded with their own 6-0 run to seal the victory.
