MOLINE, Ill. (March 14, 2024) – The No. 7 seed UIC women's basketball team (18-14) used a second-half resurgence against No. 10 Valparaiso (5-25) to earn a 79-77 victory in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament (Hoops in the Heartland) Thursday night inside Vibrant Arena at The MARK in Moline, Ill.
Senior guard
Danyel Middleton (Chicago, Ill./Bolingbrook/Marquette) led the Flames in scoring with 22 points, with 11 of those points coming from free throws. Junior forward
Makiyah Williams (Chicago, Ill./Trinity/Marquette) netted 17 points and grabbed four rebounds, while graduate student
Keimari Rimmer (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East/DePaul) scored 12 points in just 16 minutes. Senior forward
Jaida McCloud (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) also reached double digit scoring, with her 12-point performance moving her into ninth on the UIC career scoring list.
COMMENT FROM HEAD COACH ASHLEEN BRACEY
"This was a really gritty, gritty win. I'm just really proud because it's not easy to battle back from 13 in the second half," said Bracey. "We got to a point where we were in battle mode and ignoring the scoreboard, just fighting for each other. Offensively, Valpo came out very hot so we had to mentally sustain their run."
COMMENT FROM MIDDLETON
"I saw this game as a tie-breaker with Valpo, so I knew it was going to be a tough. I didn't take them lightly at all. We had to learn how to adjust in the second half and I'm proud we were able to do that."
COMMENT FROM MCCLOUD
"From the beginning our focus was stopping Earnest, their best player. At halftime, we had to check ourselves and get back to the game plan, honing in on defense. And once we did that, things started to turn around for us."
FIRST QUARTER (26-17, VU)
- Rimmer was the first Flame to score with a strong post move on the block at 9:04. However, the Beacons came out hot, only missing one shot in the opening three minutes of the game.
- Junior guard Krystyna Ellew (Chicago, Ill./Taft/Wisconsin) gave UIC a much-needed boost off the bench. At 4:31, she hit a three-pointer to cut her team's deficit to four (13-9).
- Two quick buckets from Valpo brought the score to 17-9, but senior guard Kristian Young (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) executed an up and under move on her defender in the paint to make it 17-11 Beacons at the 2:44 mark.
- Junior forward Ky Dempsey-Toney (Franklin, N.J./Franklin) scored the last basket for the Flames with 23 seconds remaining in the quarter. UIC then fouled Valpo with 1.5 seconds on the clock, resulting in one made free throw and a 26-17 lead after 10 minutes.
SECOND QUARTER (41-34, VU)
- In the first five minutes, all of the Flames' points came from charity stripe, going 4-of-6 in that time.
- Attempting to chip away at the deficit, Williams hit a jumper at 4:38 to come within eight (33-25).
- On the next UIC possession down, Young found McCloud on the block for a lay-in with three minutes left in the quarter.
- UIC could not connect on a last-minute attempt to score, ending the quarter down, 41-34. Middleton led the Flames in scoring with 10 points at the half.
THIRD QUARTER (66-62, VU)
- A quick Young came up with a steal right out the gate, as the Flames showed zone. She went to the other end for a wide-open lay-up (41-36) 10 seconds into the second half.
- Valpo extended its lead to a game-high 13 points following an 8-0 run that make it 49-36 with 8:32 remaining.
- The Flames came up with crucial stops in the third quarter to cut down their deficit. A steal and layup from Middleton at the five minute-mark brought her team within three points (49-46).
- Middleton proved to have the hot hand, answering to a three from Valpo with one of her own to come within two (52-50) and cap a 14-3 run by UIC.
- After Ellew stole the ball with 30 seconds remaining, Middleton was fouled on the fast break. She knocked down both free throws and the Flames were down by one (63-62).
- The Beacons rebuilt a four-point lead after a three at the horn.
FOURTH QUARTER (79-77, UIC)
- UIC went on an 8-0 run to open the fourth quarter to claim their first lead of the game. The Flames' offense was fueled by their defensive effort, as McCloud and Rimmer stole the ball in back-to-back possessions, part of a UIC defense that did not allow the Beacons to score a basket for the first 6:52 of the period.
- From the top of the key, McCloud found Williams for a lay-up as she cut through the lane at 5:15 to extend UIC's lead to five (72-67).
- A successful post-up from Williams on the block put the Flames in front, 75-69, forcing Valpo to call a timeout with 1:53 remaining.
- After the Beacons battle back within 77-74, Williams came up with a crucial basket with 14 seconds left to make it a two-possession game and help seal the victory for UIC.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- The 13-point rally was the largest comeback win of the season for UIC and the third time this year the Flames have erased a double-digit deficit to win (11 points at Indiana State on Jan. 28; 10 points at Southern Illinois on Jan. 4).
- Valparaiso led for the first 31 minutes of the game before McCloud's layup at the 7:30 mark of the fourth quarter gave UIC its first lead of the game (68-66).
- Thursday's win marked the seventh time this season the Flames have won after trailing at the end of the first quarter.
- Middleton recorded her second 20-point performance of the season (she scored 24 points against Drake on Jan. 14 at Credit Union 1 Arena).
- Young's six assists against the Beacons puts her at 425 career assists, which is fifth in Flames' history. She is just two away from the fourth spot (Penny Armstrong had 427 assists from 1991-95).
TICKETS AND MORE
All Hoops in the Heartland tickets will be mobile. Fans wishing to purchase tickets for Friday's quarterfinal session featuring UIC (or all-session tickets for the full MVC Tournament) should contact the UIC Athletics Ticket Office at (312) 413-8421 or via e-mail at athleticsticketing@uic.edu.
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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