CHICAGO – The UIC women's basketball team opened up the 2022-23 season Thursday evening, taking on Benedictine in an exhibition contest inside Credit Union 1 Arena. The Flames scored the first eight points of the game and never looked back, cruising to 92-35 victory.
 
Eleven Flames got in the scoring column Thursday, led by a trio in double figures. Ky Dempsey-Toney and Jaida McCloud led all scorers with 19 points each while Josie Filer added 12. Dempsey-Toney picked up a double-double in the effort, hauling in 11 rebounds in 17 minutes of action.
 
The Flames dished out 20 assists on their 37 made field goals, led by five from Sara Zabrecky. UIC's defense hounded the Eagles all night, limiting Benedictine to just 26.% shooting from the field.
 
It was all UIC from the opening tip as the team jumped out to a commanding 22-3 lead in the opening quarter and never looked back. UIC scored the first eight points of the contest before Benedictine eventually broke their scoring drought. The Flames kept their foot on the gas, scoring 14 unanswered points to put the game out of reach in the early going.
 
UIC's advantage would balloon to as many as 35 in the second quarter following another Flames scoring spree, and the Flames would take a 48-19 lead into the halftime break. McCloud led all scorers with 13 points in the first 20 minutes of action, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.
 
The Flames' hot shooting carried into the second half as UIC shot over 57% from the field for the third consecutive quarter. With the lead in hand, Coach Bracey was allowed to tinker with lineups, as 14 of the 15 Flames on the roster would see action Thursday evening.
 
UIC has one more exhibition on its schedule as the Flames will play host to Wheaton College on Wednesday, November 2. Tip-off inside Credit Union 1 Arena is slated for 7 p.m.