CHICAGO – The UIC women's basketball team (2-6) will be back at home on Wednesday evening, welcoming their first Pac-12 opponent since 2009 to the Credit Union 1 Arena in the UCLA Bruins (5-5).

The Bruins will be the first-ever PAC-12 members to enter Credit Union 1 Arena, and the just the third current Pac-12 member that UIC has faced all time. The Flames faced then-Big 12 member Colorado in the Subway Classic on Nov. 20, 2009, and faced California out on the West Coast back on Dec. 18, 1999.

Starting Five

• Brittany Byrd and Taylor Toney make up the team's top two in points, attempts, makes and rebounds. The duo also anchored UIC's offense at both Evansville (Dec. 5) and Indiana State (Dec. 8), leading the squad in points and rebounds.
• Either of the two seniors have been the leading rebounder in every game so far, and one or the other has been the leading scorer in five out of UIC's eight contests.
• Jada Nneji has been contributing as well, making an appearance in the last seven starting lineups. The sophomore matched her career high with 10 points at Indiana State, her first double-digit scoring effort of the year.
• Junior Tylah Lampley has been UIC's primary contributor off the bench thus far, ranking third on the squad in points (48) and fourth in rebounding average (3.9 per game). Lampley is the Flames' third-most efficient shooter, making 40 percent of her shots. The junior is also number one in blocks, averaging 0.8 blocks per contest.
• The Flames lead the Horizon League in steals, averaging 9.3 thefts per contest. The Flames have recorded more steals than their opponents in their last three contests (Miami, Evansville, Indiana State), and have reached double digits in steals on three occasions so far: Nov. 27 at Eastern Michigan (11), Dec. 1 against Miami (14) and Dec. 8 at Indiana State (14) . UIC's 14 thefts against Miami and Indiana State are a team season high.

Last Time out

• UIC stepped away from the court for final exams, last facing Indiana State back on Saturday, Dec. 8.
• The Flames took an early lead, but a series of three pointers in the final five minutes of the first half put Indiana State up for good. UIC poured in 23 points in the fourth quarter, but still came up short, 60-53.
• The Flames outshot Indiana State, 43.8 percent to 34.6 percent. UIC also edged out the Sycamores in rebounds, 32-31.
• The Sycamores sank 10 three pointers, the most by any UIC opponent all season.

Bring on the Bruins

• UCLA is on a two-game win streak, taking a pair of wins at home against Fresno State (89-80) and Oklahoma State (71-59).
• The Bruins shot a season-best 52.5 percent (31-for-59) from the field on Sunday against OSU to improve to 5-5 on the season.
• UCLA has three players averaging double digits in scoring in Kennedy Burke (15.8 ppg), Michaela Onyenwere (15.0 ppg) and Japreece Dean (13.4 ppg).
• UCLA's rebounding efforts are led by Lajahna Drummer's 9.1 rebounds per game average.

What's at Stake
With a win, UIC would:

• Win its third game of the season
• Win its first-ever meeting against UCLA
• Improve to 2-2 at home

Up Next

• The Flames travel to Las Vegas, Nev. to participate in the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic
• UIC will be facing Fairfield (Dec. 21) and Jackson State (Dec. 22) in the three-day tournament.