Chicago -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team will play its final regular season road contest of the season on Saturday at UIC. Tipoff at the Flames Athletic Center is set for 3 p.m. CST.
     The Penguins, who cut a 24-point deficit to three at Loyola on Thursday, will carry some confidence from a strong first half against the Flames when the teams met in Youngstown last month.
     YSU led 27-17 with 3:32 remaining, but UIC scored the final nine points of the first half and the first four of the second half en route to a 57-42 victory. The Penguins shot just 12.9 percent in the second half. The Guins will have to do a better job guarding Jessie Miller, who scored 26 of UIC's 57 in January.
     The Penguins got off to a slow start Thursday at Loyola, spotting the Ramblers 19 points before finally getting on the board at the 12:37 mark. Loyola extended the advantage to 29-5, but YSU went on a 33-9 run and got within three at 38-35.
     Camisha Alexander scored a team-high 16 points, 12 of which came in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Kenya Middlebrooks scored a career-high eight points, and Rachael Manuel grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.
     The Penguins have scored at least 50 points in three straight games for the second time this season. They've also shot better than 35 percent for three straight contests for the first time.
 
 Scouting UIC
     UIC, which is celebrating its senior day on Saturday, has lost four of its last five contests. The Flames are tied for fifth in the Horizon League standings, but they are just a half game out of seventh. UIC won its first five, lost four straight, then won four more in-a-row. Jessie Miller leads three players averging double figures with 12.9 points, and freshman Jasmine Bailey averages 10.5 points and 6.7 rebounds.