The UIC Flames continued to gain momentum as they secured a win over the Milwaukee Panthers (1-3) in their home opener at Credit Union 1 Arena Friday, 44-43.
Now sitting at 3-0, the Flames are off to their best start since the 2014-2015 season and snapped a 15-game losing streak against their former conference opponents.
The Flames were led by Danyel Middleton scoring 11 points, with 2 rebounds, an assist and a steal. The frontcourt of Jaida McCloud (10 pts, 9 rebounds) and Josie Filer (8 points, 7 rebounds) also performed strong throughout.
Early in the first, the Panthers found their shot in the midrange, landing three of their field goals just outside of the paint. The Flames however focused their work inside, where McCloud and Filer landed their first two shots of the game, leaving them only trailing by 3, 13-10.
The second quarter remained the same as both teams continued to muscle their way in for points, as the Panthers maintained their lead for most of the second quarter. The Flames finally found a way to snuff their momentum in the closing seconds of the half, when Jaida McCloud was at the top of the key, dribbled inside but immediately passed it out to Kristian Young (6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) behind the perimeter. Trying to beat the clock, the guard landed the 3-pointer to tie the game at halftime, 21-21.
After a relatively quiet 3rd quarter, the Flames found themselves trailing in a one possession game heading into the last ten minutes of the game. That all changed when Middleton was found by McCloud open behind the perimeter less than a minute into the fourth, landing the three to regain the lead. Middleton scored 7 of her 11 points in the fourth.
The Flames were tasked with defensively keeping the Panthers at bay, keeping their lead for most of the quarter. Then, with three seconds remaining, and only leading by one, the Flames secured the victory when Panthers guard Kendall Nead attempted to drive the baseline on Filer, but was forced out of bounds in Milwaukee's last possession of the game.
Throughout the game, the biggest lead either team had was 5 points. The game was tied 7 times throughout the match-up with 8 different lead changes.
Coming off the bench, Ky Dempsey-Toney had a strong night, going 3-for-5 with 6 points in 10 minutes of play.
With this win, the Flames have now won their third consecutive home opener.
The Flames are set to travel to Savannah, Georgia in the Savannah Invitational, with their first game scheduled for Monday, November 21st against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights.
