The UIC women's basketball team (1-0, 0-0 Horizon) will return to the court Monday night at the UIC Pavilion when the Illinois State Redbirds (0-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley) come to town. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm. General admission tickets are $8 and are available at the box office or by calling 312-413-UIC1 (8421). UIC students with valid I-Cards receive free admission.
On Friday, the Flames topped Lake Forest in the season opener, 84-48.
Teodora Zagorac had her first career double-double by setting career highs with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Kiki Bynes scored 13 points off the bench and had a team-high five assists in her Flames debut. UIC shot 46.7% from the floor and forced 27 Forester turnovers. Fifty-six of UIC's points came in the paint, and the Flames logged a 49-38 rebounding edge.
The 36 point margin of victory was UIC's largest in a season opener since 1977.
Head coach
Regina Miller was able to experiment with various lineups against the Foresters and get significant minutes for the bench. Ten Flames had more than 10 minutes of floor time, and they each scored at least four points and grabbed at least two rebounds. Senior
Terri Bender, making her first appearance since injuring her knee last December, quickly got back on track in all phases of the game. She scored five points and had four assists to go along with five rebounds and three steals in just 17 minutes.
The Flames defeated the Redbirds in Normal last season, 74-65. That snapped a five game winning streak in the series by Illinois State. ISU leads the all time series, 18-3. UIC is attempting to continue its success in non-conference play. Last season, the Flames went 9-2 outside the Horizon League, and have a 34-7 mark against non-HL foes over the last three years.
Illinois State is coming off a 76-40 loss to #18/16 Arizona State. Hannah Green led the Redbirds with 12 points, four rebounds, and two blocks. The Sun Devils forced 27 ISU turnovers and shot nearly 42% from the field.
With a win, the Flames would start 2-0 for the third straight season and fourth time overall under Miller. It would also be UIC's second straight win over Illinois State, which would tie the longest Flames winning streak in the series.
