CHICAGO – The UIC women's basketball team squared off against Wheaton College Wednesday evening in the final exhibition tune-up for the Flames. UIC jumped out to a commanding lead and never looked back, picking up the 67-40 victory over the Thunder.
 
Three Flames scored in double figures, led by Danyel Middleton with a game-high 17 points. Keona Schenck added 14 while Jaida McCloud fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Kristian Young filled the stat sheet, finishing with nine rebounds, five assists and six steals.
 
The Flames clamped down defensively, limiting Wheaton to juts 25.6% shooting from the field. UIC dominated the paint, owning a 32-14 advantage in paint points. The Flames also capitalized on Wheaton turnovers, outscoring the Thunder, 24-15, in points off turnovers.
 
UIC jumped out to an early 22-4 lead after one quarter of play behind a balanced scoring attack. Six different Flames contributed to the early lead, led by six points from McCloud. The defense was on point over the opening 10 minutes as the Flames held the Thunder to just 2-for-12 (16.7%) shooting from the field.
 
The Flames and Thunder played a virtually even second quarter, with UIC outscoring Wheaton College, 15-12, to take a 21-point lead into the halftime break. McCloud led all players in scoring over the first 20 minutes with 10 points while Young added seven rebounds and five assists.
 
UIC's lead grew to 27 through three quarters and would grow to as many as 36 during the fourth quarter.
 
The Flames will make their regular season debut on Monday, Nov. 7, when the team hits the road to take on former conference foe IUPUI. Tipoff in Indianapolis is set for 6 p.m. (CT).