CHICAGO – The UIC women's basketball team will return home to Chicago for three home games in a six-day period, beginning with a Horizon League contest against Oakland on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. CT in the UIC Pavilion.

The Flames are looking to secure their first conference win of the season, as well as snapping a four-game skid.

Starting Five

• Brittany Byrd moved up to fourth in the Horizon League in scoring (16.0 points per game avg.) after posting a career-high 31 points on Saturday (Jan. 6) at Cleveland State. Her total was the most recorded by a single player since Ruvanna Campbell's 32-point showing at Oakland on Feb. 13, 2016.
• Gabryelle Johnson recorded her third double-double of the season at Cleveland State (11 points, 10 rebounds), and leads the Flames with three this season. Johnson also leads the team in rebounds, averaging 7.5 per game, and has nearly as many offensive boards (50) as defensive (55).
• Tylah Lampley came off the bench at Cleveland State and poured in a career-best 15 points. The sophomore leads the team in minutes, points, and rebounds off the bench, and is the overall leader in blocked shots.
• The Flames are second in the League in turnovers forced, and are 44th in the nation, averaging 19.8 turnovers forced per game.
• UIC is second in the Horizon League in offensive rebounds with 15.1 per game, and have out-offensive rebounded their opponents in 12 of its 14 games this season.

Last Time Out

• The Flames wrapped up a two-game road trip at Cleveland State on Saturday with a tough 70-67 loss.
• Facing a 56-42 deficit at the beginning of the fourth quarter, UIC put together 25 points and held the Vikings to 23.1 percent shooting, but ended up committing untimely fouls in the final 10 seconds, allowing the home team to sink four free throws as the difference maker. 
• In addition to Brittany Byrd's career-high 31 points, she also registered career-highs in field goals (13) and was responsible for five of UIC's six three-pointers.

Scouting Oakland

• The Golden Grizzlies secured a 79-53 win over Northern Kentucky on Saturday (Jan. 6) with a strong defensive showing leading the way, as Oakland held the Norse to a mere 26 percent on the floor and just 16 percent from beyond the arc.
• Oakland's Cierra Bond posted career-high marks in points (25), field goals (9) and threes (6), while Taylor Jones netted 11 points to become the 28th player in program history to record 1,000 points in a Golden Grizzlies uniform.
• Oakland is third in the League in scoring offense, averaging 72.6 points per game, but is ninth in scoring defense, allowing an average of 65.3 points per game.
• The Golden Grizzlies are effective from beyond the arc, making 33.7 percent of their threes for a second-place ranking, and are also solid defensively in three-point range, sitting second in three-point defense, allowing just 25.4 percent of shots.
• Oakland is also first in the League in steals (10.6 per game) and blocked shots (4.1 per game), and is second in both turnover margin (+4.9) and assist/turnover ratio (1.0).

For additional game notes and links to the ESPN3 stream and live stats, please see the blue box above.