Flames to host Indiana Northwest

Gabryelle Johnson scored 13 points Saturday. (Photo: UIC Athletic UIC Athletic Communications)

The women’s basketball team returns home Wednesday to host Indiana Northwest at 4 p.m. at the UIC Pavilion.

On Saturday, UIC fell to 3-3 on the season with a 58-48 loss to Bradley (4-3) in Peoria.

Behind strong play by Gabryelle Johnson, UIC erased a 10 point deficit and tied the game on two occasions in the third quarter. But they were never able to stake themselves to the lead, and Bradley used a big run at the beginning of the fourth quarter to put the game out of the Flames’ reach.

Bradley build a 4-0 lead as the Flames missed their first eight shots. Catera Etheridge broke the ice, and Teodora Zagorac volleyed an offensive rebound into the hoop to get the offense going. Jada Nneji made a quick steal and went all the way to the rim.

Turnovers plagued the Flames in the later stages of the first quarter.

A Catera Etheridge jumper, followed by a steal-and-score by Brittany Byrd, brought UIC to within four points and forced the Braves to call timeout. Byrd swished a high arcing three pointer late in the first half to make it 26-23.

Gabryelle Johnson gave the Flames a spark on both ends of the court as the third quarter began. She made back-to-back layups to cut the deficit to one, then drew a charge to give UIC possession.

Baskets by Etheriddge and Johnson again tied the game twice, but Bradley built up their lead.  Byrd and Nneji helped keep the Flames within reach, but a double-pump, 28-foot three pointer by Anneke Schlueter at the buzzer put Bradley up by six heading into the fourth quarter.

Bradley scored the first 10 points of the fourth period.  By the time Taylor Toney made two free throws following an aggressive drive to the rim, only 2:15 remained and Bradley was up by 14.

A late run developed as UIC continued to be aggressive, drawing fouls and disrupting Bradley’s offense.  Johnson had a nice spin move on her way to making a layup through contact as the Flames scored eight straight and 10 of the game’s last 14 points.