Wright State University
4-8, 0-1HL
UIC
7-4, 1-0HL
Women Fall at UIC
1/3/2009 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wright State rallied from an early 10-point deficit to tie the game at the half, only to see UIC hit seven of its first nine shots in the second half as the Flames defeated the Raiders 60-47 in the Horizon League opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at the UIC Pavilion.
UIC jumped out to a 12-2 advantage before WSU began its comeback with a LaShawna Thomas three at the 14:02 mark. Another Thomas jumper with 7:38 left made it 17-16 and the Raiders took what turned out to be their only lead of the day at 18-17 on two Erica Richardson foul shots with 5:56 remaining.
The Flames answered with a 6-0 run, but Wright State tied it again at 23 following a Maria Bennett three and a Richardson basket. A Molly Fox layup in the final seconds knotted the score at 25 heading into the break.
UIC shot 50 percent from the field in the first half compared to just 33 percent for the Raiders, but WSU countered by connecting on four of eight from three-point range to only one of three for the Flames.
Another Thomas jumper tied the game at 27 with 19:11 to play, but UIC took the lead for good from there as the Flames followed with a 15-5 run over the next seven minutes. Another run, this one 12-2, extended the margin to 56-36 at the 3:48 mark.
UIC hit 12 of 20 shots the final 20 minutes to finish at 55 percent overall while Wright State shot 30 percent from the field in the second half to end up at 32 percent for the game.
Thomas led all scorers with 17 for Wright State and Bennett added nine, but no other Raider managed more than seven.
Shameia Green paced UIC (7-4, 1-0 Horizon) with 15 points while Jasmine Bailey had 12 and Jessie Miller 10.
Wright State (4-8, 0-1 Horizon) concludes its stay in the Windy City Monday at Loyola starting at 5:30 Dayton time.
