PEORIA, Ill. (Feb. 17, 2024) – The UIC women's basketball team (15-10, 8-6 MVC) held Bradley (6-19, 2-12 MVC) to 16 second-half points on the way to a 68-47 victory Saturday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum in Peoria, Ill.
Graduate student forward
Keimari Rimmer (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East/DePaul) tallied her fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while junior forward
Makiyah Williams (Chicago, Ill./Trinity/Marquette) netted 13 points in 21 minutes of play coming off the bench.
COMMENT FROM HEAD COACH ASHLEEN BRACEY
"I was really proud of the execution of our game plan today. We held Bradley's leading scorer (Halli Poock) to seven points. There was an incredible attention to detail on our end and I thought we really dug in, were all over the floor for loose balls, got the 50/50s and we rebounded the ball well, outrebounded them by 16. That's what it takes to be successful on the road."
COMMENT FROM SENIOR JAIDA MCCLOUD
"Overall, I feel like I played pretty good today. Being at home is amazing to me because my family can see me play. Everyone who watched me playing growing up can see me now, and of course I'm glad we got the 'W'."
FIRST QUARTER (20-18, BU)
- Rimmer made a layup off an offensive rebound to put the first two points on the board.
- At 4:31, Williams hit a three-pointer to give her team its largest lead of the quarter (16-10).
- The Flames' last score in the quarter was on a free throw from junior forward Ky Dempsey-Toney (Franklin, N.J./Franklin) with 2:29 left.
- A pesky Braves team wouldn't go away easily, as they hit a three as the shot clock sounded, tying it up at 18 with 1:16 remaining.
- Bradley then connected on a jumper to take the lead heading into the second quarter (20-18).
SECOND QUARTER (39-31, UIC)
- An offensive sequence from Rimmer stretched UIC's lead to seven points (27-20) early in the second quarter. It started with her setting up senior forward Jaida McCloud (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) for a layup.
- A possession later, she set her feet beyond the arc, sinking the shot three minutes in. Just 30 seconds after that, the veteran snagged a rebound off a teammate's miss for the putback lay-in.
- Senior guard Sara Zabrecky (Munster, Ind./Munster/St. John's) topped off UIC's 10-2 run with a three-pointer at 5:03, leading to a media timeout.
- As time wound down in the quarter, senior guard Danyel Middleton (Chicago, Ill./Bolingbrook/Marquette) led the fastbreak, wrapped a pass behind her back and found Williams running the floor for two points (39-29). With 15 seconds remaining, Bradley did the same and brought the scoreline to 39-31 heading into halftime.
- The Flames finished the half shooting 50 percent from the field, as Rimmer led all scorers with 15 first-half points.
THIRD QUARTER (51-33, UIC)
- The Flames didn't score a basket until the 6:27 mark, when McCloud put up a shot, missed, then grabbed her own rebound to put the ball back in for two points (41-33).
- Graduate student guard Dais'Ja Trotter (Louisville, Ky./Seneca/Cincinnati) tacked on another two points at 5:48 with a strong right-handed layup.
- At 2:14, the Flames' lead was extended to 47-33 following a steal and breakaway layup for Williams.
- Junior guard Krystyna Ellew (Chicago, Ill./Taft/Wisconsin) pulled up just inside the three-point line with 49 seconds left, for a long two, extending the Flames lead to 49-33.
- Rimmer picked up her own steal and score with 25 seconds left in the quarter, widening Bradley's deficit.
- UIC held Bradley to just two points in the third quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER (68-47, UIC)
- Bradley's 4-0 run to open the fourth quarter was interrupted by Young's dish to Dempsey-Toney on the block at 7:08 (53-37). That pass marked Young's fourth assist of the game.
- Rimmer came up with a steal at 5:49, leading Middleton to the rim for an easy two, giving the Flames a 20-point lead (59-39), which forced the Braves to call a timeout.
- Megen Sanaj (Chicago, Ill./Latin School of Chicago) checked into the game and scored her first collegiate field goal. The freshman guard came off of a screen and went straight to the basket for a layup to maintain the Flames' 20-point lead (67-47).
- Senior guard Keona Schenck (Somerset, N.J./Franklin) and junior guard Bailey Lutes (Cuba City, Wis./Cuba City) also saw action in the last minute, with Schenck tallying two rebounds and a free throw.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- Saturday's win completed the second consecutive regular season sweep against Bradley, with the Flames now 4-0 against the Braves since joining the MVC.
- It also marks the ninth time the Flames recorded 10+ steals in a game. UIC's 16 steals on Saturday is a high against a MVC opponent this year.
- UIC had 15 second-chance points, compared to Bradley's two.
- The Flames worked the paint, as Dempsey-Toney nabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.
UP NEXT
The Flames will return home to take on Murray State next Thursday (Feb. 22) at Credit Union 1 Arena, with a 7 p.m. (CT) tipoff. 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.
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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