EVANSVILLE, Ind. (Jan. 26, 2024) – The UIC women's basketball team (11-7, 4-3 MVC) earned a 70-61 road win in Evansville on Friday. Graduate student guard
Dais'Ja Trotter (Louisville, Ky./Seneca/Cincinnati) and senior guard
Danyel Middleton (Chicago, Ill./Bolingbrook/Marquette) both led the Flames with 13 points in the victory.
COMMENT FROM HEAD COACH ASHLEEN BRACEY
"This program is built on resiliency. It's everything we preach. It's not about the mistake you made, it's about how you respond and I thought we did that all night long, which I'm very proud of. I'm still very anxious to get this team to put a complete 40 minutes together. I thought we had a really big let-down quarter in the second, where we allowed our offense to dictate our defense. When we do that, we're not really good, but when we lock into that defensive end, great things happen for us."
COMMENT FROM SENIOR DANYEL MIDDLETON
"I feel good about the win, but not satisfied. I think we could have done a lot more. Our defense was not the best tonight, but being able to have our moments when we did get a good defensive stop, that was good for us."
FIRST QUARTER (23-16, UIC)
- The Flames caught fire right from the opening tip, going on a 10-0 run, highlighted by seven points from Middleton.
- Trotter sank UIC's first three-pointer of the game at the 4:13 mark to extend the Flames lead to 15-2.
- Middleton remained hot with her fourth consecutive basket, a lay-up with 2:47 remaining in the quarter (19-8).
- The Flames' last bucket came off a jumper in the paint from graduate student guard Keimari Rimmer (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East/DePaul) before Evansville finished the quarter on a 4-0 run.
SECOND QUARTER (35-34, UIC)
- A near three-minute offensive dry spell finally ended for the Flames when Trotter connected from beyond the arc in the corner nearly two minutes into the second quarter (26-20).
- After drawing contact on a made lay-up, junior forward Makiyah Williams (Chicago, Ill./Trinity/Marquette) converted the three-point-play to extend UIC's lead to 29-22 at the 7:33 mark.
- Trotter found junior forward Ky Dempsey-Toney (Franklin, N.J./Franklin) in the paint for her first basket of the game with 6:33 left in the half.
- The Flames' lone point in the final five minutes of the quarter came off a made free throw from junior guard Sandra Frau-Garcia (Pego, Spain/Casper College) as the Purple Aces closed the gap to one point at halftime.
THIRD QUARTER (52-48, UIC)
- After an early bucket from the Purple Aces to start the second half, the Flames quickly responded with senior forward Jaida McCloud's (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) second bucket of the night.
- After Evansville's Maggie Hartwig was called for a travel, Dempsey-Toney found space in the paint for a layup with 7:25 left in the third quarter, giving the Flames a 41-38 lead.
- The Purple Aces rallied midway through the quarter with an 8-0 run, taking a 48-46 lead before two consecutive free throws from Dempsey-Toney tied it up with 2:31 left in the third.
- Senior center Tara Green (West Helena, Ark./Central/New Orleans) closed out the quarter for the Flames with two free throws and a last-second jumper in the paint to give the Flames a two-possession lead.
FOURTH QUARTER (70-61, UIC)
- The Flames found their offensive rhythm to begin the fourth quarter going on a 9-0 run, capping off with a three-pointer from Rimmer at the 6:26 mark that made it 61-48, UIC.
- Coming back from a Flames' timeout, senior guard Kristian Young (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) found an open Middleton, who connected on a mid-range jumper to keep the Flames up, 65-57 with 1:59 left in the game.
- Free throws from Middleton, Rimmer and Frau-Garcia pushed UIC's lead to 70-58 in the closing minute of the game.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- The Flames outscored the Purple Aces in fast-break points (18-7).
- UIC's bench also scored more points than Evansville's (36-21), continuing a common theme for the Flames this season.
UP NEXT
The Flames wrap up their Indiana road trip in Terre Haute, facing off with Indiana State on Sunday. Tipoff is scheduled for noon (CT) at the Hulman Center. 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 day.
The Courtside Club will return for one more home game this season — 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, 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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