CHICAGO (Feb. 9 2024) – The UIC women's basketball team (13-9, 6-5 MVC) held Evansville (2-20, 0-11 MVC) under 38-percent from the field in the second half to secure a 65-57 victory Friday at Credit Union 1 Arena on Pride Night.
Senior forward
Keimari Rimmer (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East/DePaul) led the Flames offensively with a double-double, tallying 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. 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.
COMMENT FROM HEAD COACH ASHLEEN BRACEY
"I'm proud of the win tonight at home. After two straight losses, as a coach you want to get back on the right side of things and we were able to do that tonight. We had some highs and lows in the game, but that's always going to happen. I think tonight we did a good job of responding to every run by Evansville and that's all I could ask for."
COMMENT FROM ZABRECKY
"My teammates always find me at the right time. It starts with confidence, and it is great knowing your team and coaches believe in you. With that support, I know I'm going to knock down shots when it counts."
FIRST QUARTER (24-19, UIC)
- The Flames took the lead early, with senior guard Danyel Middleton's (Chicago, Ill./Bolingbrook/Marquette) scoring lay-up right off the tip. The Flames matched their offensive efforts with the same energy on the defensive end, as the Purple Aces didn't score until almost three minutes into the game.
- At the 6:46 mark, senior guard Kristian Young (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) exposed Evansville's transition defense, as she landed an "and-one" that gave UIC the early 8-2 advantage.
- Evansville brought the score within two points with two minutes remaining, but at 1:14 Middleton found McCloud on the post for an and-one to increase UIC's lead to five.
- With under a minute remaining in the quarter, graduate student Dais'Ja Trotter (Louisville, Ky./Seneca/Cincinnati) came up with a steal, followed by a lay-in from fellow classmate Rimmer to give UIC the 24-19 advantage after the first frame.
SECOND QUARTER (36-27, UIC)
- Rimmer showed her veteran skills, as she laid the ball back in from an offensive rebound to open the quarter, bringing the score to 26-19.
- The Purple Aces crept back within to five with 2:45 left in the half, but fouls kept the Flames at the free throw line. The majority of the UIC's points (10 of 12) came from the charity stripe in the second quarter as the Flames went into the halftime intermission with a nine point lead.
- Both teams' scoring was cut in half the second quarter, compared to the first quarter. Rimmer claimed 10 of UIC's 36 points for the Flames in the first half.
THIRD QUARTER (47-46, EVA)
- Rimmer started the scoring for UIC to open the second half, hitting a three-pointer at 8:22, which extended her team's lead to 10 (39-29).
- After Evansville cut UIC's lead to a two-possession game, Rimmer and Trotter extended the lead back to 10 with back-to-back "and-ones" with 5:40 remaining in the quarter.
- Evansville forced UIC to call a timeout at the 2:23 mark, after going on an 8-0 run and cutting the deficit to two (46-44). The Aces took the lead after connecting on a three-point shot with 39 seconds remaining.
FOURTH QUARTER (65-57, UIC)
- Tied at 47, Middleton flipped up a shot, and finished through contact for an "and-one". The veteran guard made her free throw to give UIC a three-point lead (50-47) with a little over eight minutes remaining in the game.
- After sinking a free-throw, junior forward Makiyah Williams (Chicago, Ill./Trinity/Marquette) came up with a big block at 7:18 to give the Flames momentum. Rimmer then came down and banked in a turn-around jumper to extend the Flames lead to five (53-47).
- Junior forward Ky Dempsey-Toney (Franklin, NJ/Franklin) showed up late for UIC, with two clutch baskets in the paint, giving her team a six-point lead (59-53) with 2:26 remaining in regulation.
- Up four with 58 seconds remaining, the Flames came up with a big turnover on defense as Zabrecky stepped up and took a crucial charge. 20 seconds later, the senior guard sank a three-pointer that gave UIC the 63-56 lead and ultimately secured the Flames' second win over Evansville this season.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- McCloud is now top-ten for scoring, as her nine points put her career total at 1,241 points, surpassing LeKesha Williams (1999-03, 1,225 points).
- Young's two assists Friday evening moves her one assist away from being sixth all-time. She currently sits behind Tasia Georganas (1989-93, 386 assists).
- Rimmer now has a team-leading four double-doubles this season.
UP NEXT
The Flames return to Credit Union 1 Arena on Sunday to face Indiana State for a noon tip-off. UIC will follow Sunday's contest with a week-day matchup at Illinois State on Thursday evening. The Flames and Redbirds will tip off at 6:30 p.m. at the CEFCU Arena in Normal, Ill. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be 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).
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