March 11, 2009

Box Score

Cleveland, Ohio - The UIC women's basketball team's season came to an end on Wednesday night with an 80-60 loss to Cleveland State in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Speedway Horizon League Championship at the Wolstein Center.

The Flames, seeded sixth in the tournament, finish the year with a record of 14-16. The third-seeded Vikings, meanwhile, advance to meet #7 Milwaukee on Friday evening in the first of two semifinal games.

"I thought we had moments of playing good basketball tonight," head coach Lisa Ryckbosch said after the game. "Yet we were unable to maintain that.

"We got frustrated and were not able to play through it."

Playing on a severely sprained ankle, junior Jessie Miller gutted her way to a team-high 16 points to lead UIC. Redshirt freshman Shameia Green added 15 points, while fellow rookie Jasmine Bailey led the Flames on the boards with six.

Cleveland State's Kailey Klein backed up her Co-Horizon League Player of the Year honors with a game-high 21 points, netting 4-of-5 three-point attempts. Jessica Roque chipped in 18 points for the Vikings.

Already trailing 44-32 at the break, UIC watched as Cleveland State opened the second half on a 17-0 run, netting seven of its first eight field goal attempts. Roque led the way with eight points during the surge.

The Vikings were hot all night from the field, converting 55 percent of their field goal attempts and 73 percent (11-for-15) of their three-point attempts.

The Flames were limited to just 36 percent shooting on the night.