NORMAL, Ill. (Feb. 14, 2023) – Following a four-game homestand, the UIC women's basketball team (14-9, 7-5 MVC) will travel south this week for a two-game road trip to Illinois State on Thursday and Bradley on Saturday, with both games available on ESPN+.
GAME INFORMATION at Illinois State (14-8, 7-5 MVC)
Thursday, Feb. 15 | 6:30 p.m. CT
CEFCU Arena | Normal, Ill.
Digital Yearbook
ESPN+
Live Stats
GAME INFORMATION vs. Bradley (6-17, 2-10 MVC)
Saturday, Feb. 17 | 2 p.m. CT
Renaissance Coliseum | Peoria, Ill.
Digital Yearbook
ESPN+
Live Stats
LAST TIME OUT
UIC has won six of its last eight games, most recently capturing a 68-53 win over Indiana State on Sunday afternoon. The Flames outscored the Sycamores, 20-5 in the fourth quarter, as senior
Danyel Middleton (Chicago, Ill./Bolingbrook/Marquette) led her team offensively, scoring 18 points in 26 minutes of play. The guard nearly played a perfect game offensively, missing only one shot (4-5 FG, 2-2 3FG, 8-8 FT). Meanwhile, graduate student forward
Keimari Rimmer (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East/DePaul) was on her way to another double-double, finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Last Friday (Feb. 9), UIC held Evansville under 38-percent from the field in the second half to secure a 65-57 victory at Credit Union 1 Arena. Rimmer recorded her fourth double-double of the season, tallying 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in just 25 minutes. Senior guard
Sara Zabrecky (Munster, Ind./Munster/St. John's) scored 10 points and senior forward
Jaida McCloud (Peoria, Ill./ Richwoods) netted nine points in 19 minutes of play for the Flames.
RIMMER NEWCOMER RECOGNITION
For the third time this season, the Missouri Valley Conference selected
Keimari Rimmer as the conference's Newcomer of the Week on Tuesday.
The versatile player first received the honor on Jan. 3, following her 21-point showing in UIC's conference opener, and again on Jan. 23 after recording a double-double at Belmont. This time, it was for Rimmer's overall efforts last week, averaging 18 points and nine rebounds per game against Evansville and Indiana State.
For the season, Rimmer stands among the top 20 in The Valley in field-goal percentage (10th – .493), steals (10th – 1.7 spg.), rebounds (12th – 6.7 rpg.) and scoring (19th – 10.9 ppg.).
Rimmer is one of two UIC players to receive a weekly honor from the MVC this season, along with junior forward
Makiyah Williams (Chicago, Ill./Trinity/Marquette), who earned the same award on Nov. 20. Rimmer is also one of three Flames chosen as MVC Newcomer of the Week since UIC joined The Valley prior to last season.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE
The Redbirds opened MVC play by defeating Bradley (78-74), followed by losses to Belmont (64-52) and Murray State (90-55). ISU was on a three-game winning streak (Southern Illinois, 76-43; Missouri State, 85-78; Valparaiso, 77-68) before coming to Chicago to take on the Flames on Jan. 21. That's when UIC broke their winning streak in overtime, 86-79. Since then, they have experienced both victories and defeats against Drake and Northern Iowa.
Gradaute student DeAnna Wilson leads Illinois State in scoring (15.6 ppg.) and the post player is second in rebounding (7.0 rpg.), while senior Kate Bullman is the Redbirds' top rebounder (8.5 rpg.).
Last time out against the Redbirds, McCloud led the way for UIC with 18 points and nine rebounds. Rimmer posted a double-double, scoring 11 points and adding 13 rebounds. Williams pitched in 14 points, while senior guard
Kristian Young (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) added 11.
SCOUTING BRADLEY
Bradley has struggled to find conference wins, with just two in the Valley over Southern Illinois (58-56) and Evansville (79-72). Junior Kaylen Nelson leads Bradley in scoring (15.6 ppg), but she hasn't appeared in a game since Nov. 23. Meanwhile, freshman guard Halli Poock has stepped up for the Braves, averaging 13.7 points per game. On the boards, Isis Fitch emerges as Bradley's leading rebounder, grabbing 6.0 per game.
This will be the second meeting between the Flames and Braves this season. The first was back on Jan. 19 when UIC used a big second-half performance and some timely free throw shooting to defeat Bradley, 75-68 at Credit Union 1 Arena. Four Flames scored in double figures, led by graduate student guard
Dais'Ja Trotter (Louisville, Ky./Seneca/Cincinnati) and Middleton, who each scored 13 points. Rimmer added 12 points and Zabrecky contributed 11 points for UIC. The overall series record between the two teams sits at 16-10 in favor of Bradley.
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.
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).
#FireUpFlames | #ChicagosCollegeTeam
