Women’s basketball falls to Illinois-Chicago, 54-45

By Katie Lynn
Western Herald

(Nick Karebian/Western Herald) Bronco forward Ebony Cleary looks for an open teammate against Pittsburgh on Nov. 20. Cleary led the Broncos with 10 rebounds on Saturday on the road against Illinois-Chicago and also added six points for WMU.

The Western Michigan University women’s basketball team took on the University Illinois-Chicago Flames on the road Saturday and went home with its fifth loss of the season, 54-45.

The Flames have now won all five of its games this season, tying the best start ever for UIC. The Broncos fell to 2-5 on the season following the loss.

Although the Flames came out with the victory, the Broncos had a strong lead throughout most of the game.
Heading into halftime, the Broncos were ahead six. Western Michigan then scored six straight points in the first minute of the second half to bring its lead to 12 points, 30-18.

The Flames were not ready to give up just yet, however. With 7:14 remaining in the game, UIC took its first lead of the game. The Broncos and Flames battled each other, close and were tied several times, but UIC took control with 3:25 remaining in the game.

The Flames went 12-for-15 at the free throw line in the second half, and with minutes remaining it was enough for UIC to stay ahead for Western Michigan and earn the victory.

A key to the Brown and Gold’s loss was turnovers committed in the second half. Western Michigan turned the ball over 13 times in the second half, allowing UIC to rally and eventually win the game. WMU finished with 21 total turnovers in the game.

The Flames took better care of the ball in the second half, only turning the ball over five times. It was a big improvement for UIC, as they committed 11 turnovers in the first half.

One area that Western Michigan played well in was rebounds. The Broncos won the battle of the boards for the fourth time this season, outrebounding the Flames 43-36.

However, the Broncos struggled to generate offense. Western Michigan finished with a 29.8 percentage from the field (17-for-57).

Freshman guard Miame Giden led the Broncos in scoring with 14 points and also added seven rebounds. Senior Guard Tiera DeLaHoussaye scored 10 points, including two three-pointers.

Sophomore forward Ebony Cleary led the Broncos with 10 rebounds and also added six points.

The Brown and Gold will now take a week break from game action. They will return to the road on Dec. 14, this time to face the Drake University Bulldogs.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Dec 7 2008. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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