LEXINGTON, Ky. – The UIC women's basketball team (18-16) came up short in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational against New Mexico State (17-16) Friday afternoon, 51-41.

The Flames were led offensively by junior Jaida McCloud, who scored a team-high 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in the game. Junior Kristian Young netted nine points and sophomore Ky-Dempsey-Toney scored six points.

COMMENT FROM HEAD COACH ASHLEEN BRACEY
"At the end of the day I think they (New Mexico State) came out and competed a little bit harder than us. I think we did get it going in the second half, but at that point we created a deficit. They do a phenomenal job at managing possessions. They typically, unless they have a lay up in transition, they will use the entire shot clock. It was just hard to catch back up with them. I think this was just a great experience for our kids to just be playing in March, to take the bulk of your squad who has not played a postseason game in their college careers to a WBI, to get the feeling to play this time of year is huge for the future of your program and building a championship program."

 
FIRST HALF

• Junior Danyel Middleton scored all five of her points in the first ten minutes to lead the Flames in scoring early on.   
• The Flames finished the quarter shooting 36% from the field. They trailed the Aggies, 14-9 entering the second quarter.
• Junior's Kristian Young (four points), Jaida McCloud (four points) and Sara Zabrecky (two points) led the Flames to ten points in the second quarter.
• UIC shot a game best 43% in the field in the last ten minutes of the half before heading into halftime trailing, 30-19.

SECOND HALF

• The Flames started the third quarter on a 6-2 run heading into media timeout, cutting down New Mexico State's lead, 32-25.
• UIC outscored New Mexico State to end the third quarter, 10-9.
• Jaida McCloud reached double figures in the second half with two made shots after posting six points earlier in the game. She has now led the Flames in scoring in over 14 games, a team high.
• Trailing by 10 entering the fourth quarter, the Flames went on a 9-3 run to bring the Aggies lead to five, but New Mexico State finished the game scoring five unanswered to secure the win.

 
The Flames return to Clive M. Beck Center tomorrow to take on FIU (12-19) in the consolation bracket at 12 p.m. ET. Tune into the WBI's stream of the game for $10 a day at www.watchwbi.com or follow along via live stats for free at http://wbi.statbroadcast.com.