DES MOINES, Iowa (Feb. 29, 2024) – The UIC women's basketball team (16-12, 9-8 MVC) couldn't fend off Missouri Valley Conference opponent Drake (23-5, 16-1 MVC) Thursday night at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa, falling to the Bulldogs, 83-64.
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The Flames were led by junior forward
Ky Dempsey-Toney (Franklin, N.J./Franklin), netting 15 points and grabbing five rebounds in 19 minutes. Senior forward
Jaida McCloud (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) also scored 15 points and added a team-high six rebounds.
COACH'S COMMENT
"Drake is a very good team, but this was a disappointing loss and we're better than what we showed tonight," said head coach
Ashleen Bracey. "I thought Jaida and Ky were great. They had a really good understanding of the game plan. Those two played confidently because they have experience playing Drake. But in order to win on the road, you have to defend. You have to be willing to execute the game plan, so we need to have more attention to detail against UNI."
FIRST QUARTER (20-15, DU)
- Drake opened up the game with a 4-0 run, but graduate student forward Keimari Rimmer (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East/DePaul) put a stop to it with a score in the paint at 7:48.
- Dempsey-Toney checked in and played solid post defense, then made a strong move past her defender at 2:30 to bring the score to 15-8.
- Less than a minute later, junior forward Makiyah Williams (Chicago, Ill./Trinity/Marquette) came up with a big block on the defensive end, which led to another bucket from Dempsey-Toney, bringing the score to 18-12.
- The Flames had the ball for the final shot of the quarter and senior guard Sara Zabrecky (Munster, Ind./Munster/St. John's) squared up to sink a three-pointer, keeping her team within five after 10 minutes.
SECOND QUARTER (41-26, DU)
- The second quarter started with an early 9-2 run from Drake, but senior guard Danyel Middleton (Chicago, Ill./Bolingbrook/Marquette) made her way to the paint on consecutive possessions and brought the Flames within 29-21 with less than six minutes to go in the period.
- The Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run coming out of the media timeout, then junior guard Sandra Frau-Garcia (Pego, Spain/Casper College) was active on defense, coming up with a steal at 3:24. The resulting offensive possession led to Middleton scoring again to bring UIC within 36-23.
- At 2:39, McCloud poked the ball from her opponent and Dempsey-Toney made the fast-break jumper to bring the margin down to 36-25.
- Middleton and Dempsey-Toney finished the half with eight points apiece.
THIRD QUARTER (65-50, DU)
- UIC made the first basket of the quarter, as Zabrecky knocked down a three, cutting the deficit back to 12 points (41-29).
- Frau-Garcia stole the ball again at 6:10, and took it coast-to-coast for an easy lay-in (53-35).
- Drake continued to knock down shots from beyond the arc, but UIC connected on one as well at 4:47. On an inside-out action, McCloud drove to the rim, and found Williams spotting up at the three-point line (57-39).
- UIC went on a 7-0 run with under three minutes remaining. It was led by Frau-Garcia as she found her open teammates, with six assists to her name.
- The Flames ended the quarter with two field goals in the paint from Dempsey-Toney to draw UIC within 65-50.
FOURTH QUARTER (84-63, DU)
- At 7:28, Williams grabbed an offensive rebound and scored around two defenders (71-53).
- Despite chipping away at the lead, the Flames had a hard time stopping the Bulldogs' drives and three-pointers.
- UIC's post players continued to work near the rim, as Rimmer grabbed her teammate's miss and scored on the second effort (73-55).
- The Flames' guards also kept the pressure on while trailing late in the game, as Frau-Garcia came up with her season-high fifth steal and a subsequent fast-break layup. She also found McCloud on the last basket of the game with 19 seconds remaining, giving Frau-Garcia her seventh assist of the night.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- Dempsey-Toney's 15 points is a season-high for the junior, as well as her minutes played (19).
- After tallying 15 points, McCloud is now at 1,301 career points, still good for 10th in school history. She is closing in on the No. 9 spot on UIC's all-time scoring list (1,334 points).
- The third quarter was pivotal for UIC, as they tied in scoring with Drake 24-24.
UP NEXT
The Flames will stay in Iowa to take on UNI on Saturday for a 2 p.m. (CT) tipoff in Cedar Falls. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats at
UICFlames.com.
TICKETS AND MORE
Tickets for all remaining 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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