Detroit and UIC Victorious on Thursday Night

Detroit and UIC both wrapped up the non-conference portion of their schedules with victories on Thursday night. Detroit knocked off Western Michigan, while UIC took down Eastern Illinois.

Detroit 73, Western Michigan 64

A red hot Detroit Titans women's basketball team ran its winning streak to three games as the Titans upended Western Michigan on the road, 73-64, in a Thursday matinee at University Arena.

Sophomore Senee Shearer led the way with a game and career-high 24 points, her third-straight game reaching the 20-point plateau. Senior Lauren Allen and junior Yar Shayok tallied 13 apiece, while seniorJalesa Jones a career-high nine rebounds and tied her season high with seven assists. Jones' seven helpers now gives her 400 in her career, moving her to fourth place in the school record books.

The Titans took control with a 14-0 run in the first half to jump out in front, 20-7. Trailing by one, 7-6, at the 16-minute mark, the Titans offense started clicking and the defense held the Broncos in check, as WMU was 0-of-6 from the field with four turnovers.

WMU got back in the game, cutting the Titan advantage to five, 25-20, with 5:15 left when the red, white and blue went on another run, this one a 15-0 charge to end the half.

The first half saw the Titans shoot 50% from the field hitting 16 of their 32 attempts. They were also 7-of-11 from beyond the arc. Defensively, Detroit held WMU to just 7-of-30 from the field (23.3%) and forced 10 turnovers.

Shearer extended the run to 17 with two free throws to start the half and almost two minutes later, a triple from sophomore Megan Hatter and an Allen jumper gave the Titans their largest lead of the game, 48-24, at the 17:04 mark.

From there, Western Michigan chipped away at the Titan lead, eventually getting within nine, 60-51, with 3:21 left before the Titans hit a bevy of late free throws to close out the victory.

Shayok also grabbed six rebounds and tied her career high with four blocks in just 20 minutes of action. Hatter ended the game with eight points and three boards, while freshman Shareta Brownhad six points, six rebounds and two steals.

Detroit connected on 16 of its 20 free throws, including 11-of-13 in the final five minutes of play. UDM also ended the game shooting 40% from the field and 42% from three-point range. The defense had nine steals and forced 17 Bronco turnovers.

Detroit will now have a few days off for Christmas break before heading into conference play next week. The Titans open the Horizon League slate next Thursday, Dec. 29, with Butler coming to town for a 7:00 p.m., tip.

UIC 66, Eastern Illinois 50

The UIC women’s basketball team improved to 7-4 on the season with a 66-50 victory over Eastern Illinois on Thursday inside the UIC Pavilion.  The Flames held EIU to their lowest total of the season as the Panthers entered the contest averaging nearly 75 points per game.

Senior Shamiea Green tallied 18 points and became the 17^th player in Flames history to eclipse 1,000 career points.  Senior Jasmine Bailey led all scorers with 27 points, collecting her 14^th straight double-digit scoring performance.  Senior Cree Nix grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds, including 10 in the first half.

The first stanza was closely contested with four lead changes and four ties.  The score was knotted at 16-16 until the Flames rattled off four straight points, bringing their lead to 20-16 with 4:21 left in the first half. The Flames extended their lead to 26-20 as Bailey hit a three as time expired in the first half.

UIC came out the locker room on fire, mounting a 10-3 run over the first four minutes of the second half and held a 36-23 advantage with 15:48 left in the game.  Bailey did most her damage in the final 20 minutes, notching 19 points which accounted for nearly half of her team’s points.

The Flames take a break from action during the Holiday season and hit the road on Dec. 29 for the Horizon League opener at No. 14/18 Green Bay.

Drake 65, Loyola 50

Host Drake used a 9-0 run midway through the second half to take control and Loyola saw a late rally thwarted as the Ramblers dropped a 65-50 decision this evening at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

Drake got off to a fast start, drilling a pair of three-pointers to grab an early 16-7 lead. The lead ballooned to 11 (20-9) before the Ramblers got going. An Ayrealle Beavers three-pointer started a 9-0 LU spurt that cut the lead to two at the 6:36 mark. The Ramblers' defense managed to keep getting stops, holding the Bulldogs to just three points over a 9:11 span, but their offense struggled to find the range and Drake managed to take a 29-23 lead into halftime.

DU's Rachael Hackbarth had two put-backs in the opening minutes of the second half as the home team rebuilt a double-digit lead but Loyola kept battling, drawing within seven after a Troy Hambric three-point play. The Ramblers sliced the deficit to six (45-39) at the 11:51 mark but Drake responded with its 9-0 run to grab a 54-39 lead with just over seven minutes on the clock. A basket from Patrice King, a Monica Albano three-pointer and a Katie Kortekamp lay-up in succession pulled the Ramblers within eight (56-48).

Albano scored 12 of her team-high 15 points in the second half to lead Loyola, which shot just 32% overall from the floor for the game. Hambric joined her in double figures, finishing with 13 points and five rebounds.

The Ramblers return from their Christmas break and begin Horizon League play next Thursday (Dec. 29) at Milwaukee. Tip is set for 8 p.m.