Box Score

CHICAGO -- Western Michigan rallied from 16 points down, but fell short in its season opener to Illinois-Chicago Saturday afternoon at the UIC Pavilion.

The Broncos received a 27-point effort from Carrie Moore, while Lindsey Brown and Tiera DeLaHoussaye added 17 points each.

UIC built a 49-33 lead in the first half behind 64.3 percent shooting from the floor (18-for-28).  Guard Krystal Hugelier drained four-of-five three-pointers for the Flames.

WMU rallied in the second half and claimed its first lead since the game's opening minute when Moore sank a jumper to make it 74-73 with 4:36 left.  Moore finished with 20 second-half points while Brown established herself in the paint with 15 points over the final 20 minutes.  WMU also took advantage of early Flame foul troubles, sinking 21-of-29 free throws.

The Broncos suffered misfortune, however, with two minutes left when DeLaHoussaye left the game after colliding with a UIC player in a scramble for a loose ball.  The sophomore guard did not return as UIC held on for the narrow victory.

"The quality of play in the second half was more like our expectations are for this team," said coach Ron Stewart.  "In the first half our play did not reflect how we had been practicing this week, we gave them too many three-point looks.  I think in the end, our leadership skills showed behind the play of our seniors."

WMU travels to Wisconsin Tuesday (Nov. 14) before returning to University Arena on Friday (Nov. 17) for the home opener against Detroit Mercy.