WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 20, 2023) – The UIC women's basketball team's (7-3) second-half resurgence led to a 81-65 victory against UTEP (4-7) on day one of the West Palm Beach Classic.
Senior forward Danyel Middleton (Chicago, Ill./Bolingbrook/Marquette) led the Flames with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. Graduate student guard Dais'Ja Trotter (Louisville, Ky./Seneca/Cincinnati) netted 13 points and grabbed six rebounds. Junior forward Makiyah Williams (Chicago, Ill./Trinity/Marquette) also scored 13 points, while senior center Tara Green (West Helena, Ark./Central High School/New Orleans) contributed 12 points off the bench.
COACHES' COMMENT
"UTEP is a very tough squad that is athletic and explosive. We played great as a team, a really good 40-minute effort for us," said head coach
Ashleen Bracey.
"We are a good offensive team. We have a lot of weapons. People are starting to zone us because of it. That has a tendency to slow us down a bit mentally. We adjusted to that and when we stopped settling for three-pointers, our offense started to flow."
FIRST QUARTER (19-17, UTEP)
- Senior guard Kristian Young (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) found an open Trotter in the corner for three to give the Flames an early 6-2 lead in the first 1:20 of the game.
- Graduate student guard Keimari Rimmer (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East/DePaul) drove the lane for the layup to extend UIC's lead to 8-3.
- Stealing the ball from the Miners' Jane Asande, Trotter's breakaway layup at the 5:40 mark kept the Flames ahead, 10-6.
- A late 10-1 run from UTEP was thwarted behind layups from Green and Middleton in the final two minutes of the quarter, as UIC trailed by one, 16-15.
- Back-to-back free throws from junior guard Sandra Frau-Garcia (Pego, Spain/Casper College) kept it a one-possession game entering the second quarter.
SECOND QUARTER (39-38, UIC)
- The Flames struggled to find their shot early on until Rimmer connected from beyond the arc at the 5:46 mark to keep the Flames within six (28-22).
- The Flames caught fire in the last half of the quarter, going on a 10-0 run, tying it up at 33-33 behind senior guard Sara Zabrecky's (Munster, Ind./Munster/St. John's) three-pointer from the corner with 2:10 remaining in the half.
- A made free throw from Frau-Garcia with 1:38 left gave the Flames their first lead since late in the first quarter (34-33).
- Green finished the last minute of the half on fire, scoring five of her eight first-half points in that span, including her first three-pointer of the season.
THIRD QUARTER (72-58, UIC)
- Middleton became the first UIC player to break into double figures after converting a three-point-play and giving the Flames a two-possession lead less than two minutes into the quarter (42-38).
- Grabbing a defensive rebound, Young raced ahead and managed to squeeze past defenders for the layup to increase UIC's lead to seven midway through the quarter.
- UIC extended its advantage to double digits with a 12-3 run, culminating with a layup from Williams just the past the midway point of the quarter, putting the Flames ahead, 54-44.
- Driving down the baseline, Frau-Garcia found junior forward Ky Dempsey-Toney (Franklin, N.J./Franklin) at the 2:48 mark for a 58-44 UIC lead.
- Free throws from Middleton and Frau-Garcia finished off the quarter for the Flames, who went 10-for-12 from the charity stripe and grabbed a 14-point lead.
FOURTH QUARTER (81-65, UIC)
- Early lay-ups from Trotter and Williams kept the Flames' double-digit lead intact (65-51) with seven minutes left.
- Rimmer found an open Williams on the perimeter amidst a fast break for the Flames' fifth three-pointer of the game with 5:09 remaining.
- Senior forward Jaida McCloud (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) took a pass from Williams and converted on the block with just over four minutes to play (72-58).
- For the remainder of the game, all of UIC's offense came from Middleton and Green. Middleton sank three free throws and made a fast break layup, while Green sank both her free throws and her last shot from the field in the closing seconds to secure the win for the Flames.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- With her 16-point performance, Middleton matched her collegiate career-high. She last scored 16 points against Indiana State on Jan. 5, 2023.
- UIC set season highs with 26 made free throws and a .778 free throw percentage.
- UIC also collected a season-best 34 defensive rebounds in the win.
- The Flames' bench has outscored its opponent's reserves in all 10 games this season, more than doubling up the Miners' bench on Wednesday, 35-17.
UP NEXT
UIC will wrap up play at the West Palm Beach Classic on Thursday, taking on Power Five opponent Arkansas (10-3) out of the Southeastern Conference at 10 a.m. (CT) from Keiser University's Massimino Court in West Palm Beach, Fla. The game will be streamed on FloHoops via paid subscription, while live stats will be available at
UICFlames.com.
Tickets for all UIC home basketball games can be purchased online through Ticketmaster and UICFlames.com/Tickets, as well as through the UIC Athletics Ticket Office (312-413-UIC1) or by visiting the Credit Union 1 Arena box office on game night.
For more information on UIC women's basketball, 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).
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