CHICAGO (Nov. 26, 2023) – The UIC women's basketball team (4-2) fell to Saint Louis 79-75 after a back-and-forth battle on Sunday at Chaifetz Arena. Three Flames, Jaida McCloud (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods), Dais'Ja Trotter (Louisville, Ky./Seneca/Cincinnati) and Makiyah Williams (Chicago, Ill./Trinity/Marquette) scored in double digits in the four-point loss.

COACHES' COMMENT
"I'm really proud of our fight on the road. We stuck together in the face of adversity, dealing with foul trouble," said head coach Ashleen Bracey. "We need to clean up some things and improve our late-game execution. Now, we look forward to battling again." 

FIRST QUARTER (17-14, SLU)

• After a quick score from Saint Louis, Trotter got the Flames on the scoreboard with her first three-pointer of the game.
• With one minute remaining in the quarter, McCloud came up her third steal of the game and converted it into two points, bringing the Flames within one. UIC trailed by three at the end of the quarter.

SECOND QUARTER (33-33, TIED)

• At the 9:45 mark, Keimari Rimmer (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East/DePaul) leveled the game at 17-17 with a long three-pointer.
• Ky Dempsey-Toney (Franklin, NJ/Franklin) provided a spark off the bench, nabbing an offensive rebound with a putback to give the Flames a 19-17 lead at the eight-minute mark.
• Trotter hit two three-pointers within minutes, tying the game with three minutes to go. She concluded the half as UIC's leading scorer with 11 points. The Flames and Billikens were tied at 33 heading into the halftime intermission.

Dais'Ja Trotter leads all scorers at the half with 11 points, shooting 3-6 from the beyond the arc! ??

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— UIC W. Basketball ???? (@UIC_WBB) November 26, 2023

THIRD QUARTER (57-54, UIC)

• Saint Louis made an early layup to start the second half, but Rimmer responded with a strong drive to the paint, keeping the score knotted at 35.
• With seven minutes left in the quarter, Trotter hit her fourth three of the game to give the Flames the 38-35 lead.
• About a minute later, Danyel Middleton (Chicago, Ill./Bolingbrook/Marquette) connected on another shot from behind the arc, extending the Flames' lead to 41-35.
• Kristian Young (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) missed a free throw after being fouled with seconds left in the quarter. The senior guard followed her miss and was fouled again with no time left. She made her free throw to give UIC the 57-54 lead at the end of the quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER (79, 75 SLU)

• Krystyna Ellew (Chicago, Ill./Taft/Wisconsin) nailed a three-pointer at the 8:45 mark, propelling UIC ahead by five-points, 62-57.
• Young found McCloud in the paint with four minutes remaining in the quarter to maintain the Flames' lead.
• After the two program traded leads multiple times over the final two minutes, Saint Louis took the 77-75 lead with less than a minute remaining. With 22 seconds left, Middleton drew a foul in the lane, but missed both free throws. The Billikens would make two late free throws, to come away with the four-point victory.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• UIC forced 27 turnovers from Saint Louis, which is the second-most against an opponent this season. The highest was 29 in UIC's season opener against Loyola (Nov. 6).
• The Flames finished the game against the Billikens with a season-high 23 assists.
• Trotter was UIC's leading scorer with 18 points. It's her second time leading the Flames in scoring this season.

ON MCCLOUD NINE

• McCloud continues to climb up the UIC all-time scoring lists, now sitting at 1,140 points, which puts her 15^th in the rankings.

UP NEXT
The Flames will travel to Omaha, Nebraska on Friday to take on the Mavericks at Baxter Arena. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be provided on UICFlames.com.

For more information, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_WBB and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_wbb and @uicflames).