EVANSVILLE, IND. – The UIC women's basketball team (14-12, 6-9 MVC) came up short against Evansville (10-13, 5-9 MVC) Friday night in overtime, 68-65.

The Flames were led offensively by Sara Zabrecky, who landed five three-pointers on her way to 17 points. Jaida McCloud netted 13 points with a team-leading eight rebounds. Josie Filer and Tiana Jackson each scored 11.

COACHES COMMENT
"The kids battled, and sometimes games don't go your way and we know that," Flames head coach Ashleen Bracey said. "We need to do a better job taking care of the controllables like not hitting our free throws. I think we missed four in overtime. There is things we can work on but at the end of the day, all I can ask for them to do is battle."


FIRST HALF

• Evansville held the lead right from tip-off until a jumper from Keona Schenck, her lone score of the game, with 2:26 remaining in the first to give UIC's first lead of the game.
• UIC's strongest shooting performance all game occurred in the first quarter, going 45% from the field collectively.
• The lead changed only three times in the first half with neither team leading more than four points. The Flames led for over seven minutes in the first two quarters.
• Scoring six of her 11 points in the first half, Josie shot 100% from the field (two-for-two) and went one-for-two from the charity stripe. Three of her four rebounds were also on the offensive side.

SECOND HALF

• The Flames enter the second half red hot. Through layups made by their frontcourt of Filer/McCloud and a three-pointer from Sara Zabrecky, the Flames finished a 7-0 run with the Aces calling a timeout to regroup.
• The Flames outscored the Aces in the third quarter, 20-16.
• The Aces responded with a strong fourth quarter, scoring 19 points.
• In the closing seconds, the Flames were down by two when Zabrecky hit her fifth three of the game for a one-point lead, 58-57. Evansville's Anna Newman responded by going one-for-two at the foul line, forcing overtime. 

OVERTIME

• The Aces started strong in overtime, going on a 10-3 run.
• The Flames continued to bridge the gap behind the work of Tiana Jackson. The senior scored five of her 11 points in extra regulation.
• In the closing seconds of overtime, the Aces fended off the Flames to win the game, 68-65.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS

• The Flames remained tied for sixth place after Southern Illinois (9-15, 6-9 MVC) lost to Belmont (16-10, 12-3 MVC), 80-70 at home.
• Evansville is now a game behind the Flames and the Salukis at 5-9 in Missouri Valley Conference play.

JOSIE AND JAIDA'S JOURNEY TO 1,000

• After scoring 11 points tonight, Filer now is 47 points from 1,000 points in her collegiate career. She remains the top scorer for the Flames, averaging 12.2 PPG.
• McCloud's 13 points now has the junior 64 points away from the milestone. She has scored double figures in the last seven consecutive games.

The Flames aim to bounce back Sunday afternoon when they take on Indiana State (10-14, 5-10 MVC) on the road, tip-off is scheduled for noon.