Jan. 19, 2008

Box Score

Chicago, Ill. - Sophomore Briana Hinkle guided the UIC women's basketball team to a 76-69 triumph over crosstown rival Loyola on Saturday night with a career-high 21 points. The Flames move to 5-11 overall and 1-4 in league play.

Hinkle was 7-for-13 from the field and 7-for-9 from the line. Sophomore Jessie Miller was one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards. Miller drained three treys and added a career-high eight assists in the win.

Junior Ashley Hluska also pulled down a career-best nine rebounds and added 11 points on the night. Freshman Ashley Tomzik and junior Meghan Hutchens each totaled 10 points.

Four Loyola players scored in double-digits with sophomore Maggie McCloskey leading the pack with 19 points, followed by Elyse VanBogaert (16), Jessica Hylton (13) and Kesiha Collins (11).

UIC outrebounded Loyola 38-36, while also owning five more steals (5), four more assists (23-19) and forced the team to commit 11 more turnovers (16-5). The Flames' bench contributed 30 points.

Trailing early in the first half, UIC sparked a 7-0 run to own a four-point lead at the 13:30 mark. The Ramblers tied it up at 20-20 on a trey by McCloskey. The Flames finished the first 20 minutes of play strong with an 11-4 burst (39-30). Hinkle was 5-for-8 from the field, totaling a team-high 13 points at the half.

Loyola answered in the first two minutes of the second half with eight straight points to cut the deficit to one (39-38). Loyola then took its second lead of the contest on McCloskey's third three-pointer with 16:32 on the clock.

UIC regained the advantage with 13:52 remaining and held on to capture its first Horizon League victory of the season (76-69).

The Flames head to Wisconsin next week to face Milwaukee and Green Bay on Jan. 23 and 26.