Youngstown -- Sophomore Brandi Brown scored a career-high 35 points and posted her 12th double-double of the season with 11 rebounds to lead the Youngstown State women's basketball team to a 72-58 win over UIC on Thursday evening at the Beeghly Center.
Brown is the first player to score at least 30 points since Heather Karner scored 34 against Cincinnati on Nov. 10, 2006.
Brown connected on 11-of-18 from the field and tied a school single-game record by going 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. The last time a YSU player shot 100 percent from the free-throw line with a minimum of eight makes was Heather Karner (8-for-8) against UIC on Jan. 6, 2007.
The Guins, who improved to 5-23 overall and 3-14 in the Horizon League, also went 17-for-17 from the free-throw line, just the second time in school history that a team has made 100 percent of its charity tosses in a game with a minimum of 10 free throws made. The last time was at Oakland
UIC falls to 14-14 overall and 9-8 in the Horizon League.
The Flames, who trailed by as many as 20 points, 43-23, early in the second half, attempted a comeback and whittled the deficit down to nine, 60-51, with 7:22 to go.
The Guins, however, never caved and quickly re-established a double-digit lead on Tiera Jones' old-fashioned three-point play to expand their lead to 63-51.
The Flames flirted with cutting the deficit back to single digits after a Taylor Foulks jumper brought them within 10, 65-55, at the 5:14 mark.
A jumper by Brown and a 3-pointer by Kenya Middlebrooks ballooned the Guins' advantage back to 15 points, 70-55, with 1:57 left to out the game out of reach.
Trailing, 12-11, with 12:14 to go in the first half, the Guins used a 16-2 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes to take a commanding 27-14 lead with 7:41 to go.
A jumper by Brown, who scored 17 first-half points, and a 3-pointer by Liz Hornberger sparked the Guins' run and gave YSU a four-point edge, 16-12.
After a jumper by UIC's Briana Hinkle, the Guins scored 11 straight points to cushion their lead to 13 points.
Hornberger's second 3-pointer and jumper by Brown, Maryum Jenkins, Jones and another jumper by Brown accounted for the Guins' 11-0 spurt.
Five straight points by the Flames trimmed the deficit to eight points, 27-19, but the Guins kept the pressure on by scoring 14 of the next 18 points to take an 18-point lead at the intermission, 41-23.
Brown, who made 7-of-11 field-goal attempts in the first stanza, and Middlebrooks ignited the Guins second big run of the half with 3-pointers, and Macey Nortey scored all six of her points in the final four minutes of the half – two layups and two free throws.
The first eight minutes of the half featured four ties and seven lead changes.
After making just five of their first 15 field-goal attempts, the Guins rallied to convert 10 of their last 19 shots, and made four of their five 3-pointers in the final 11 minutes.
The Guins host Loyola on Senior Day, Saturday, March 5. Tipoff is slated for 1:05 p.m.
