CHICAGO (March 9, 2024) – The UIC women's basketball team (17-14, 10-10 MVC) couldn't fend off Southern Illinois (11-19, 6-14 MVC) Saturday afternoon, dropping a 69-65 overtime contest on Senior Day at Credit Union 1 Arena.
The Flames finished Missouri Valley Conference play in seventh place and secured the No. 7 seed for the MVC Tournament (known as "Hoops in the Heartland"). UIC will face 10
th-seeded Valparaiso in the first round of the conference tournament at 6 p.m. (CT) Thursday from Vibrant Arena at The MARK in Moline, Ill. The game will be televised live on The Valley on ESPN and ESPN+. The full Hoops in the Heartland bracket can be found
here.
In Saturday's overtime loss to SIU, senior forward
Jaida McCloud (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) collected a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds while tying her season high with three steals. Senior guard
Danyel Middleton (Chicago, Ill./Bolingbrook/Marquette) also netted 13 points and graduate student forward
Keimari Rimmer (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East/DePaul) scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds.
COACH'S COMMENT
"It's a disappointing loss. For a lot of reasons, but overall, we didn't show up and do what we're capable of doing. I don't know we played to our standard," said head coach
Ashleen Bracey. "We started sluggish and we never really got out of it. We gave SIU a ton of confidence and credit to them, they played so hard on both ends of the court. We have to be ready to show up, night in and night out, regardless of who we're playing. I believe in 'no losses, just lessons' so we need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and get ready for the MVC tournament. It's a new season."
FIRST QUARTER (22-17, SIU)
- An early 4-0 run by SIU was interrupted by a three from Middleton, bringing UIC within 4-3.
- After consecutive makes from the Salukis, the Flames trailed 9-3 until senior guard Sara Zabrecky (Munster, Ind./Munster/St. John's) hit a three-pointer at 4:18. On the next UIC possession, the senior hit another triple to bring her team within two (11-9).
- SIU then went on a five-point run, extending the lead to 16-9, forcing UIC to call a timeout with 2:22 remaining in the quarter.
- At 1:20, Middleton hit a fadeaway jumper to make it 16-13, but Southern Illinois executed the same move seconds later. SIU used that momentum to score a last-second layup to end the quarter (22-17).
SECOND QUARTER (38-33, SIU)
- SIU opened the quarter with a three (25-17), but junior guard Krystyna Ellew (Chicago, Ill./Taft/Wisconsin) had an answer off the bench, making a strong move to the basket at 9:35.
- At the 7:15 mark, McCloud cut her team's deficit to six after an "and-one" play and made free throw (28-22).
- A 10-0 run from the Flames allowed them to reclaim the lead with four minutes remaining. The run was fueled by multiple offensive putbacks, including two from Rimmer.
- SIU scored the last basket with 18 seconds on the clock. UIC had a chance to score as Zabrecky had a good look that went in and out and the Salukis led 38-33 at the half.
THIRD QUARTER (51-48, UIC)
- Junior Ky Dempsey-Toney (Franklin, N.J./Franklin) put the Flames on the board 20 seconds into the quarter, chipping away at SIU's lead as she went up strong on the left side of the basket (38-35). The forward posted up again minutes later for another two points to trail by one.
- Down three at 6:45, senior guard Kristian Young (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) launched a pass from halfcourt as Middleton ran the floor for a layup to bring UIC within one point (40-39).
- The Flames evened the score at 43 on an out-of-bounds play as graduate student Dais'Ja Trotter (Louisville, Ky./Seneca/Cincinnati) looped around a screen for an open layup midway through the third quarter.
- The guard brought a spark for her team, coming up with a steal at the four minute-mark, which she converted into an "and-one" on the other end. She then scored another basket to give UIC the three-point lead (49-46) with 3:27 remaining.
- UIC had the ball for a last-second shot, but turned the ball over, ending the quarter with a three-point advantage (51-48).
FOURTH QUARTER (59-59, TIED)
- SIU took the lead a minute into the fourth quarter with a quick five points, but Rimmer came up with a steal, which led to a fast break lay-in at 8:35 to even the score (53-53).
- Two made shots at the charity stripe from Young at 3:30 broke up a four-minute scoring drought from the Flames, who trailed 59-57.
- Middleton evened the score up at 59 following a strong take to the rim at 2:27.
- UIC came up with a big defensive stop with 27 seconds remaining in regulation. After a timeout, Williams took the path to the basket for a potential game-winning shot, but could not connect on the layup, forcing overtime.
OVERTIME (69-65, SIU)
- SIU collected an "and-one" to start the overtime, but McCloud cleaned up a teammate's miss at 3:30 to keep the score even (61-61).
- Down two points with 1:47 remaining, Rimmer scored and was fouled, but missed the free throw, keeping the score tied at 63.
- SIU then made a three-pointer with 1:20 left to retake the lead.
- McCloud knocked down two free throws with 31 seconds on the clock from a dead ball foul to bring UIC within one point (66-65).
- After SIU split two free throws with :29 to go, Young quickly pushed upcourt for a look at a tying layup, but her shot was blocked with 21 seconds left and the Salukis were fouled on the rebounding action five seconds later.
- SIU then made two foul shots for a four-point margin and one final UIC shot to draw closer did not connect.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- This was McCloud's third three-steal performance of the season, tying her season high from the Nov. 26 game at Saint Louis and Jan. 26 game at Evansville. She has tallied 30 steals this season.
- Middleton scored in double figures for the 15th time this season.
- The Flames were outrebounded by the Salukis 39-36, just the 10th time this season UIC has not prevailed in the battle on the boards.
UP NEXT
The Flames will prepare for their second appearance in the
Missouri Valley Conference Tournament (Hoops in the Heartland) next week in Moline, Ill. As noted, seventh-seeded UIC will open tournament play at 6 p.m. (CT) Thursday against No. 10 seed Valparaiso live on The Valley on ESPN and ESPN+.
All Hoops in the Heartland tickets will be mobile. Fans wishing to purchase tickets for Thursday's evening 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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