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thevalley
Rimmer_UAB_WNIT_03.21.25
Mark Black
48
UAB UAB 16-16,7-11 AAC
63
Winner UIC UIC 15-17,10-10 MVC
UAB UAB
16-16,7-11 AAC
48
Final
63
UIC UIC
15-17,10-10 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UAB UAB 13 18 11 6 48
UIC UIC 20 10 10 23 63

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Flames Ride Dominant Fourth Quarter To First WNIT Win in Program History

Flames outscore UAB, 23-6 in the final 10 minutes, advance to play at Butler Sunday afternoon.

CHICAGO — Graduate student forward Keimari Rimmer posted her third double-double of the season with game highs of 22 points (tying her career high) and 10 rebounds, and led four UIC players scoring in double figures as the Flames earned their first-ever Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) victory, downing UAB, 63-48 on Friday night at Credit Union 1 Arena.  

UIC (15-17) used a suffocating defensive effort in the fourth quarter to outscore the Blazers, 23-6 over the final 10 minutes. The Flames also finished with 15 steals, including a career high-tying six thefts for graduate student forward Danyel Middleton, who added 10 points and four assists as well. Senior guard Krystyna Ellew came off the bench to score 11 points, inckuding two clutch three-pointers in the fourth quarter, and senior forward Ky Dempsey-Toney rounded out the double-figure brigade with 10 points. 
 
The box score and full play-by-play recap from Friday's win over UAB can be found here.



COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH ASHLEEN BRACEY


SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS









 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
  • UIC posted its first WNIT win in three tries after first-round appearances in 2007 and 2024.
  • The Flames were playing their first home postseason tournament game since the 2014 Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) championship game, which they won 73-64 over Stephen F. Austin to claim the program's first postseason title. UIC is now 3-0 all-time when playing in the postseason at home (adding a 74-44 WBI semifinal win over Fairfield in 2014).
  • UIC is 5-4 all-time in postseason tournament games (4-2 in WBI, 1-2 in WNIT).
  • This was the first-ever meeting between UIC and UAB in women's basketball.
  • Rimmer's 22 points matched her career high set on Nov. 9, 2023, in an overtime loss at Northwestern.
  • Middleton posted six steals for the third time in her career, and second time this year (also on Dec. 8 vs. North Central at Credit Union 1 Arena).
  • This was the third time this year the Flames had 15 or more steals in a game — they had a season-high 23 against North Central on Dec. 8, and 16 steals against Ohio University on Dec. 22 (also at home).

UP NEXT: BUTLER (WNIT SECOND ROUND)
It will be a quick turnaround for UIC, as the Flames travel to Indianapolis on Sunday for a noon (CT)/1 p.m. (ET) matchup against Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse in the second round of the WNIT. Live coverage of Sunday's game is TBD - check back to UICFlames.com and the UIC women's basketball social media accounts for details as they become available. 
 
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
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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