NORMAL, Ill. (Feb. 15, 2024) – The UIC women's basketball team (14-10, 7-6 MVC) fell 64-61 in an intense battle with Illinois State (15-8, 8-5 MVC) at CEFCU Arena Thursday evening. The Flames and Redbirds were vying for the fifth spot in Missouri Valley Conference standings and UIC led most of the night before falling victim to a late Illinois State rally.
 
Junior forward Makiyah Williams (Chicago, Ill./Trinity/Marquette) finished with a team-high 13 points, while senior forward Jaida McCloud (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) added 11 points and eight rebounds.
 
FIRST QUARTER (18-12, UIC)

• Senior guard Kristian Young (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) connected on a three-pointer 50 seconds in to open the scoring for both teams. Less than a minute later, senior guard Sara Zabrecky (Munster, Ind./Munster/St. John's) added another three-pointer to give the Flames an 8-2 lead.
• At 4:30, junior guard Sandra Frau-Garcia (Pego, Spain/Casper College) put the pressure on the Redbirds and came up with a steal. Her fastbreak layup gave the Flames their biggest lead of the quarter at 12-5.
• With less than one minute remaining, senior guard Krystyna Ellew (Chicago, Ill./Taft/Wisconsin) snatched an offensive rebound and went back up strong, making the layup through the contact to give UIC a six-point advantage after the first quarter.

 
SECOND QUARTER (33-29, UIC)

• Illinois State closed the scoring gap to 18-16 until graduate student Dais'Ja Trotter (Louisville, Ky./Seneca/Cincinnati) positioned herself for an offensive rebound. She was fouled and made both free throws, stretching UIC's lead back to four (20-16).
• The score was tied 20-20 at the 6:55 mark, but Young was feeling it beyond the arc, sinking her second three of the game. Graduate student Keimari Rimmer (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East/DePaul) tacked on another three-pointer 30 second later (26-23).

2Q | 7:00

Kristian Young with the DEEP three-pointer ??

UIC:23
ISU: 20

??ESPN+
?? https://t.co/We8IDsAmmM pic.twitter.com/WAM1ayQ5Xz

— UIC W. Basketball ???? (@UIC_WBB) February 16, 2024

• McCloud made it 30-23 after an athletic move around her defender to earn the "and-one" at 5:17.
• Neither team could convert their last-minute attempts to score, ending the quarter at 33-29.

 
THIRD QUARTER (52-42, UIC)

• The Redbird defense sagged off McCloud, so she sank a 15-footer at 9:07 to give UIC the 35-29 lead.
• Williams got hot in the third quarter, hitting back-to-back jumpers, extending the Flames lead to 48-35.

3Q | 6:07

Makiyah Williams getting hot behind the arc ??

UIC:41
ISU:33

??ESPN+
??https://t.co/We8IDsAmmM pic.twitter.com/9IujENtiO2

— UIC W. Basketball ???? (@UIC_WBB) February 16, 2024

• At 1:24, Ellew hustled for her second offensive rebound as Williams set up for another three-pointer.

 
FOURTH QUARTER (64-61, ISU)

• ISU scored four points to cut the scoreline to 52-46 early in the final period before Williams broke up the hosts' streak with a move in the paint to help rebuild what would be a 10-point lead for UIC.
• The Redbirds' leading scorer, DeAnna Wilson, fouled out at 3:51, but on that same exchange, the UIC bench received a technical foul. Maya Wong split those two free throws, then made a three to cut ISU's deficit to six (59-53).
• After four foul shots, ISU made a layup at 1:19 to even the score at 59 before Wong drained a long three with 16 seconds remaining to give her team its first lead of the game (62-59).
• Down by three with one more chance to score, the Redbirds guarded the three-point line tight and gave Williams an opening for a driving layup to get the margin back to one with three seconds to go.
• The Flames fouled on the inbounds play and the Redbirds made both free throws to retake a three-point lead.
• UIC called a pair of timeouts before its final possession, but Zabrecky's look at a game-tying three-pointer was off the mark as time ran out.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• Thursday's contest was the first this season that Young hit two threes (2-3 3PT) in a game.
• UIC controlled the lead virtually the entire game, up until 16 seconds remained in the fourth quarter.
• The fourth quarter was the difference for the Flames, as ISU outscored them, 22-9.

UP NEXT
The Flames will head to Peoria, Ill., on Saturday to take on Bradley at Renaissance Coliseum. Fans can watch the 2 p.m. (CT) game on ESPN+, with live stats available 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.
 
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).