CHICAGO – A new era of UIC women's basketball started with a win on Wednesday night, as the Flames (1-0) defeated Valparaiso (0-1) by a final tally of 75-65 inside the UIC Pavilion. Senior Brittany Byrd anchored the Flames with an impressive 28-point showing, matching her career-high with six three pointers.

First Half Highlights

• The Crusaders started the game with a 1-0 lead before tip following a UIC administrative technical foul, but Brittany Byrd came out aggressive for the Flames, sinking a three just six seconds into the game.
• Valpo took the next five, but Byrd closed the gap with another three, tying the game at six.
• Facing an 11-8 hole, the Flames went on a 9-0 run for their first lead since the game's first minutes, 17-11. The visitors only put in one more score, as UIC finished the first quarter with an 18-13 lead.
• The visitors tied it just over two minutes into the second quarter, but another triple from Byrd gave back UIC's advantage, 21-18. Five turnovers in the next four minutes contributed to a drought for the Flames, allowing the Crusaders to take over the lead, 25-23. The first half ended in a similar fashion, with UIC trailing by two, 27-25.  

Second Half Highlights

• Jasmine Gaines tied it up in the first minute, and a long ball from Tylah Lampley put the lead back in UIC's hands, 30-27.
• Five straight from Taylor Toney and a triple from Tylah Lampley extended the lead, 38-29. The Crusaders scored the next four, but UIC pulled away even further by taking the next seven, 45-33.
• The threes continued to come for Byrd, and after her sixth the Flames led by 13, 48-35. The third quarter ended with UIC still ahead by 13, 53-40.
• An 11-1 run for Valpo threatened the Flames' lead, 58-53, but UIC took six of the next eight to go up for good. The final buzzer sounded with a 75-65 win for the Flames.

Facts & Figures

• Brittany Byrd led all scorers with 28 points. The senior was 6-of-8 from beyond the arc, matching her career-high. Byrd finished the night just one rebound shy of a double-double with a game-high nine.
• Tylah Lampley also had an impressive outing, tallying a career-high 21 points.
• Also in the double-digits was Taylor Toney with 11 points. Toney also ended the night with seven boards, second most on the Flames.
• Both Toney and Lampley recorded three steals for the Flames defense.
• Kiarra Thompson tallied a career-best six points to go with three rebounds.
• The Flames outshot the Crusaders 50 percent to 40.8 percent. The Flames were also more efficient from the three-point line, making 47.1 percent of all threes compared to 30 percent of Valpo's.
• The Flames committed 23 turnovers which resulted in 23 points for the visitors. The Flames scored 11 off 21 Crusader mistakes.
• Valpo was stronger in the paint, outscoring the Flames 26-18. The Crusaders also had a slight edge in second-chance points, 15-14.
• The two teams poured in an equal 18 points off fast breaks, but UIC held a huge edge off the bench, besting Valpo 30-13.
• Wednesday night's win marks the fifth-consecutive season opener won by the Flames.

Up Next

• The Flames make the short trip north to take on Northwestern in their first road match on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. CT.

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