CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (March 2, 2024) – After leading by 16 points in the third quarter, the UIC women's basketball team (16-13, 9-9 MVC) fell in a tough battle on the road at Northern Iowa, 61-52 in Saturday afternoon. Junior forward
Makiyah Williams (Chicago, Ill./Trinity/Marquette) led all scorers with 22 points off the bench, including 20 in the first half alone.
COACH'S COMMENT
"It was a tale of two halves. We began as the aggressors, but in the second half, they took charge," said head coach
Ashleen Bracey. "They made adjustments at halftime and played a triangle defense against us, putting us on our heels. However, we are learning and growing every day. Hopefully, this team realizes they can play with the best in the Valley; UNI was projected to finish first in the league, but as we've been saying all season long, we have to put a full 40 minutes together in order to win."
FIRST QUARTER (19-12, UIC)
- UIC was hot to start, getting out on an early 6-0 run. It started with senior forward Jaida McCloud (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods), who ran the floor and spun around a UNI defender for the first two points of the game. At 9:14, graduate student forward Keimari Rimmer (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East/DePaul) tacked on another two.
- Northern Iowa tied it up at 5:42, but Williams subbed in and made an instant impact on offense, going up and around the defender to put the Flames in front, 8-6.
- The Flames expanded their lead to 12-6 after junior guard Danyel Middleton (Chicago, Ill./Bolingbrook/Marquette) zipped a pass to classmate Sandra Frau-Garcia (Pego, Spain/Casper College) on the block for an "and-one".
- Junior forward Ky Dempsey-Toney (Franklin, N.J./Franklin) topped off the quarter by planting her feet and taking a charge with one second left.
SECOND QUARTER (36-23, UIC)
- The Panthers came within four (20-16) three minutes into the second quarter until Williams sank a three-pointer to put her team ahead, 23-16.
- With a little over a minute to go in the quarter, junior guard Krystyna Ellew (Chicago, Ill./Taft/Wisconsin) connected on a mid-range jumper, stretching the UIC lead to double figures (34-23).
- The Flames scored the last bucket before halftime as senior guard Kristian Young (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) found Williams for a layup, giving UIC its largest lead of the half at 36-23.
- Williams was responsible for majority of UIC's points in the opening 20 minutes, ending the first half with 20 points.
THIRD QUARTER (44-42, UNI)
- The Panthers hit a jumper on their first possession of the quarter, but the Flames kept up the intensity. As the shot clock wound down at 7:41, Middleton hit a three-pointer to give UIC its largest lead of the day (41-25).
- Northern Iowa then closed the quarter on a 19-1 run , taking the lead for the first time in the game off a second-chance layup in the paint just before the horn sounded (44-42).
FOURTH QUARTER (61-52, UNI)
- Northern Iowa picked up where it left off with the first basket of the period at 8:54. Middleton answered back on UIC's next possession with a three-pointer to bring the Flames within 46-45.
- The Panthers then went on an 8-1 run to stretch their leads to 54-46 with less than four minutes to play.
- Rimmer scored two quick field goals for UIC in the final minute, easily getting to the rim for a layup, but time ran out before the Flames could cut the lead any further, falling to UNI for the second time this season.
- Williams scored her first points of the half just before the final horn sounded. The Panthers face-guarded her the entire second half to limit her touches, but the junior ended with 22 points.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- UIC dominated Norther Iowa in bench points, outscoring the Panthers' reserves, 33-11.
- UIC won the battle of points in the paint as well (32-28).
- The Flames held the Panthers to just one three-pointer, which is a season low for UNI.
UP NEXT
The Flames will complete the regular season at home in Chicago, as they host Missouri State and Southern Illinois next week. The game against the Bears on Thursday will begin at 7 p.m. (CT), while Saturday's contest against the Salukis will tip off at 1 p.m. (CT) and will be preceded by UIC's Senior Day ceremony. If fans can't make it out to see the action, both games will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats at
UICFlames.com.
TICKETS AND MORE
Tickets for both 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).
#FireUpFlames | #ChicagosCollegeTeam
