CHICAGO (Jan. 14, 2024) – The UIC women's basketball team (8-7, 1-3 MVC) couldn't fend off Drake (12-4, 5-0 MVC) Sunday afternoon at Credit Union 1 Arena, falling in a physical Missouri Valley Conference battle, 82-62.
UIC was led by senior forward
Danyel Middleton (Chicago, Ill./Bolingbrook/Marquette) with a career-high 24 points, going 10-for-13 from the free throw line. Junior forward
Makiyah Williams (Chicago, Ill./Trinity/Marquette) netted 15 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter.
COACH'S COMMENT
"This was a tough loss at home. We anticipated being a lot more competitive," said head coach
Ashleen Bracey. "Drake is a very difficult team to prepare for in practice because they of the way they play, constantly changing their halfcourt defenses. They play a very fast-pace game, typically we're built to play fast but for whatever reason tonight that wasn't playing in our favor and I just think was hard to get in a rhythm on both ends of the floor."
FIRST QUARTER (20-12, DU)
- Senior guard Kristian Young (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) found senior forward Jaida McCloud (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) for a fast break layup and an early 2-2 tie 90 seconds into the game.
- An 11-0 run from the Bulldogs was eventually thwarted at the 5:45 mark when Williams connected on a layup (13-4).
- Junior guard Krystyna Ellew (Chicago, Ill./Taft/Wisconsin) found graduate student guard Keimari Rimmer (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East/DePaul) open in the midrange for her first make of the game. The Flames remained behind, 18-6 with 2:23 left in the first quarter.
- Graduate student guard Dais'Ja Trotter (Louisville, Ky./Seneca/Cincinnati) found space beyond the arc and connected on the Flames' first three-pointer of the game at the 1:17 mark (18-9).
- The Flames closed out the quarter with Ellew sinking all three of her free throws and limiting the Bulldogs to just two points in the final 4:30 of the quarter.
SECOND QUARTER (40-27, DU)
- Middleton connected on a midrange jumper for her first basket in the day with 8:59 remaining in the first half (22-14).
- Middleton followed that up with a deep three-pointer to cut the Bulldogs' lead to 24-17 at the 6:53 mark. The senior forward finished the quarter with seven points.
- After checking in for the first time, senior center Tara Green (West Helena, Ark./Central High School/New Orleans) worked inside for back-to-back lay-ups as the Flames trailed 31-23 entering the last two minutes of the half.
- After an 8-2 Drake run, senior guard Sara Zabrecky (Munster, Ind./Munster/St. John's) found an open Ellew under the basket for the layup with 43 seconds remaining.
THIRD QUARTER (54-40, DU)
- Middleton remained on fire offensively for the Flames as Trotter set up her second three-pointer of the game (42-31 Drake).
- After collecting a steal on an inbounds pass, junior guard Sandra Frau-Garcia Garcia (Pego, Spain/Casper College) shoveled a pass to Middleton in the paint for a layup with 5:20 remaining (48-33).
- Junior forward Ky Dempsey-Toney (Franklin, NJ/Franklin) took a pass from Williams in the lane for a basket with 2:15 to go in the third.
- In the closing seconds, Trotter collected UIC's eighth steal of the game, finding Williams who was fouled with 0.6 left on the clock and split two foul shots.
FOURTH QUARTER (82-62, DU)
- The Bulldogs began the quarter on a 13-3 run before Williams found space to drive in for the layup at the 6:49 mark as UIC trailed, 66-45.
- After Middleton sank the first of two foul shots moments later, Dempsey-Toney came down with the offensive rebound off a miss and found Williams open for the lay-up (68-48).
- Williams continued to find the open shot, converting on a midrange jumper with 2:55 to play (75-52).
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- Middleton's 24-point performance is a new career high for the senior, surpassing her 16 points on two previous occasions — most recently in the Dec. 20 win against UTEP at the West Palm Beach Classic, as well as last year against Indiana State (Jan. 5, 2023).
- Williams' 15-point performance extends her streak of scoring in double digits to nine games. She has scored in double digits in 12 games this season.
- UIC recorded 12 steals in the game, a season high for the Flames against any Missouri Valley Conference opponent. It is also the seventh game this season UIC has posted double-digit steals.
- Going 19-for-24 from the free throw line, the Flames posted a season-high .792 free-throw percentage against the Bulldogs.
UP NEXT
The Flames remain at home next Friday (Jan. 19) when they play host to Bradley (5-11, 1-4 MVC) in a 7 p.m. (CT) MVC contest at Credit Union 1 Arena. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats at
UICFlames.com.
TICKETS AND MORE
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.
The Courtside Club will return for two more home games this season — next Sunday (Jan. 21) against Illinois State and Feb. 4 against Valparaiso. Club members will receive a number of perks including early arena access, unlimited refreshments (including complimentary beer and wine) and a private lounge space with flat-screen televisions and theater-style furniture.
For more information or to purchase Courtside Club passes (single-game or three-game pack), contact the UIC Athletics Ticket office (312-413-8421;
athleticsticketing@uic.edu) or send a request through the Courtside Club page at
UICFlames.com. Passes may also be purchased on game days through the Credit Union 1 Arena box office or the Courtside Club entrance located on the event level.
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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