Wright State University
14-13, 11-5HL
UIC
9-18, 5-11HL
Women Defeat UIC in Regular-Season Home Finale
3/1/2008 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wright State closed out the first half with a 15-0 run to go up 11 at the break, but had to hold off a UIC comeback attempt in the second half before defeating the Flames 56-48 in Horizon League women's basketball action at the Nutter Center Saturday afternoon.
UIC hit 10 of its first 11 shots from the field over an 11-minute span, but only held a 21-18 advantage. The Flames went up 23-19 on a Taylor Manley jumper with 7:06 remaining, but it was all Wright State the rest of the half as the Raiders scored the final 15 points, five coming from senior Whitney Lewis, to make it 34-23 at the break.
After hitting 10 of their first 11, the Flames hit just one of 15 the rest of the half in shooting 42 percent while Wright State was at 44 percent.
The Flames cut the deficit to 38-36 on two Nicole Rinaldi foul shots with 11:16 remaining, but the Raiders responded with a Kanisha Ward three and two foul shots from senior Sierra Crayton.
UIC again rallied, this time to 43-42 after a Taylor Manley jumper at the 6:44 mark, but again Wright State would have an answer, this time a 10-0 run over the next three minutes, including two baskets from Crayton.
The Flames would get no closer than five the rest of the way as two foul shots by Shey Peddy and one from Crayton rounded out the scoring.
WSU hit just four of 24 shots the final 20 minutes compared to 10 of 29 for UIC, but made up the difference at the foul line as the Raiders were 13 of 20 to just five of seven for the Flames.
Wright State held a 46-34 rebounding advantage, including 20-9 on the offensive end, which resulted in a 11-6 advantage in second-chance points, and the Raiders also led 25-16 in points off of turnovers.
Peddy led the Raiders with a near double-double of 13 points and nine rebounds and also added five steals, while Thomas added 10 points along with six assists. Senior Sierra Crayton also nearly had a double-double as she had 10 points and nine boards. Erica Richardson chipped in nine points and six rebounds off the bench.
Miller paced all scorers with 16 for UIC (9-18, 5-11 Horizon), but no other Flame managed more than eight.
With the win, the Raiders have clinched a home game in the Horizon League quarterfinals, which are set for Wednesday, March 12. WSU now holds a two-game lead on second place with two to play as both Cleveland State and Milwaukee lost on Saturday.
Wright State, now 14-13 overall and 11-5 in the Horizon League, wraps up the regular season next week with a two-game trip to the Badger State, starting on Thursday, March 6, with a matchup against League-leading Green Bay at the Kress Center. Game time is 8:00 Eastern.
