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Dannie Middleton
Mark Black

Women’s Basketball Opens the WBI Tournament Against New Mexico State Friday

This will be the Flames third postseason appearance in program history.

3/16/2023 5:05:00 PM

LEXINGTON, Ky— The UIC women's basketball team (18-15, 9-12 MVC) earned its third postseason bid as one of the eight teams in the Women's Basketball Invitational and are set to begin the tournament against New Mexico State (16-16, 10-8 WAC) Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. ET.

MATCH UP BREAKDOWN
  • This will be the third time that the Flames and the Aggies are set to battle it out on the hardwood.
  • The Flames have won both previous meetings. On Jan. 17, 1985, UIC won by two, 54-52 at home. 23 years later, the Flames found the same success, defeating the Aggies, 83-63.
  • The Aggies are coming off a seventh-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference, and a quarterfinal appearance in the conference tournament. The Aggies fell to the eventual WAC champs in Southern Utah (23-9, 16-3 WAC) on a buzzer beating three pointer, 63-62 back on Mar. 8.
  • Junior Molly Kaiser leads New Mexico State in scoring, averaging 13.2 points per game. The guard has scored in double figures in 22 games this season. She was the tenth best scorer in the WAC this season.
  • Like UIC, New Mexico State had a strong defensive effort over the season. They were the second-best scoring defense in the WAC, holding teams to 60.4 PPG.
STREAMING AND TICKET INFORMATION
  • Tickets are $20 per day and can be purchased at the Clive M. Beck Center door.
  • Children aged 12 and under are admitted free with a paying adult.
  • All games will be streamed for $10 per day on www.watchwbi.com.
  • Fans can follow live stats for free at http://wbi.statbroadcast.com.
2023: A SEASON TO REMEMBER FOR UIC
  • Under first year head coach Ashleen Bracey, the Flames have had a remarkable season thus far, recording a 18-15 overall record, including 10 league victories, in the program's first season as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
  • The Flames currently have 16 more wins this season than in 2021-22, marking the greatest year-over-year turnaround for a program in MVC women's basketball history.
  • The Flames advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament, marking UIC's first conference tournament win in six years.
  • In February, UIC defeated 2023 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament Champion and NCAA automatic bid recipient Drake, 64-52. The 12-point margin of victory was the most this season by any MVC team against the 2023 postseason champs.
UIC IN THE POSTSEASON
  • This is the Flames second time competing in the WBI and the third postseason appearance in program history.
  • Back in 2014, UIC defeated Stephen F. Austin to win the WBI championship, 73-64.
  • UIC competed against IPFW, Eastern Michigan and Fairfield on its title run.
  • UIC is the sole member of the Missouri Valley Conference to have a WBI title.
  • The Flames other postseason appearance was back in 2007 in the WNIT, falling to Minnesota in the first round.
FLAMES EARN MVC HONORS
  • The Missouri Valley Conference named Filer to its All-MVC Third Team and All-MVC Newcomer team. Filer leads the Flams in points per game (12.8) rebounds per game (6.8) and made field goals (160).
  • Graduate Guard Tiana Jackson was also one of 16 MVC women's basketball student-athletes named to the Scholar Athlete team for her work both on the court and in the classroom. Jackson, who holds a 4.0 GPA, was an Honorable Mention selection.
FILER'S FIREPOWER
  • Filer eclipsed 1,000 points in her collegiate career back on March 2. against Belmont.
  • The graduate transfer leads the team in double-digit games this seeing, scoring at least 10 points in over 23 games this season.
  • Filer also leads the team in double-doubles with five this season. Her last double-double came back on Feb. 25 in the win over Bradley, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
  • Filer is second in three pointers made (20), field goal percentage (47.9%), and blocks (19).
ON MCCLOUD NINE
  • Junior Jaida McCloud also surpassed the 1,000-career point mark back on Mar. 4 against Murray State.
  • McCloud now sits 21st in UIC's all-time scoring at 1,032 points. She has a chance to crack the top 20 at the WBI. Currently tied for 19th place is Jacquese Gilbert (1988-91) and Toni Stachon (1975-78).
  • She is currently second in rebounds per game (6.5), third in field goal percentage (47.6%) and steals (31) for the Flames. 
  • McCloud has led the Flames in rebounding (16) and has led the team in scoring 13 games all season. 
 
 
 
 
 
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