Green Bay's stifling defense prevented UIC from establishing any kind of rhythm in a 65-31 Phoenix victory Monday night at the Kress Center.  The Flames set a season low in points and shot just 31.6%.

The Phoenix (22-5, 13-3 HL) disrupted UIC's efforts from start to finish.  The Flames (5-23, 2-15 HL) committed 28 turnovers and while Green Bay committed 20 of their own, they held a commanding 33-7 edge in points off turnovers.

A bright spot for the Flames was the play of Gabryelle Johnson.  Inserted back into the starting lineup for the first time in 13 games, she scored from a variety of locations in and out of the paint and had two putbacks on missed shots.  Johnson finished with 10 points and five rebounds, both team highs.

The Flames drew first blood when Terri Bender found Tyra Carlsten-Handberg alone under the rim for an easy layup.  Johnson had a productive first quarter.  She made a putback and received a no-look pass from Bender for two early field goals.  UIC stayed within a possession for the first seven minutes until Green Bay got a little separation and took an 18-10 lead at the end of the quarter.  Jessica Lindstrom had 10 points in the first period and the Phoenix shot 50%.

Bender grabbed four steals to break a tie for second place on UIC's all time steals list.  She is up to 263 for her career and is in the top 10 among active players nationally in the category.

The teams traded turnovers the first five trips up and down the court to start the second quarter.  UIC, deploying its 12^th different starting lineup this season, experienced some miscommunications early in the game with passes going to areas just vacated by a teammate.  On the defensive end, the Flames got into foul trouble – they were whistled for five in the first 4:30 of the second quarter – giving Green Bay opportunities to regroup from the free throw line.

Though the Phoenix committed their share of turnovers, the Flames were not as efficient once they took over.  Green Bay outscored UIC 15-3 off of turnovers in the first half, and held an 18-9 rebounding edge at the break.  The Phoenix would go on to out-rebound UIC 41-19 for the game, holding the Flames to a new season low on the glass, surpassing their total in the teams' first meeting.  They built a 15 point lead at halftime and UIC could not chip away the rest of the contest.

Lindstrom scored a game high 18 points and added 13 rebounds.  Three Phoenix finished in double figures and the squad shot 46% on the evening.  UIC was held without a three point basket for the first time all season.

UIC will close the regular season at Valparaiso Saturday afternoon, then head to Detroit next week for the Horizon League Tournament.