CHICAGO – The UIC women's basketball team (2-13, 0-4 HL) will be back at home inside Credit Union 1 Arena this weekend as it welcomes the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (4-10, 1-2 HL) to Chicago. The two teams are set to tipoff at 7 p.m. CT.

Starting Five

• Sophomore Jada Nneji is fresh off a career night at Cleveland, where she tied the single-game blocks record with an impressive nine stops against the Vikings. Nneji ended the day with her first career double-double, leading the squad with a career-high 18 points and a personal-best 13 rebounds. The sophomore has racked up 30 stops this season, ranking second in the League with an average of 2.0 blocks per game.
• Senior Kienya Jones also had a standout performance out in eastern Ohio, putting up career highs in points (18), rebounds (6), assists (2) and steals (3). Jones shot 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from the field on the day.
• Senior Brittany Byrd is quickly approaching the 1,000-career point mark, owning 989 career points. The senior has scored in double figures in nine of her last 10 appearances, and is averaging 15.7 points per game. Byrd will be the first player to eclipse 1,000-career points since Ruvanna Campbell's 1,671 career points from 2013-16.
• UIC has proved it can spread the ball around on offense, having three players score in double figures on six different occasions this year. On Saturday (Jan. 5) against Cleveland State, Nneji (18 pts), Jones (18 pts) and Byrd (14 pts) all scored in double digits.
• UIC's bench is responsible for 29 percent of its scoring, contributing an average of 14.9 points per game. The Flames' bench has outscored its opponents five times: Valparaiso (30-13), Loyola (16-7), Miami (15-13), Fairfield (20-2) and at Cleveland State (20-4). UIC's 30 bench points in the opener against Valparaiso were a season high, while its 18-point margin over Fairfield was a season-high.

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

• Win its third game of the season
• Win its first game against Oakland since 2015
• Capture its first Horizon League Win
• Snap an eight-game losing streak
• Improve to 2-5 at home

Last Time Out

• The Flames were dealt a 71-53 to Cleveland State on Saturday. UIC held a 28-23 lead at halftime, but were contained to just 28.1 percent shooting (9-of-32) in the second half.
• UIC trailed by just six entering the final quarter, 47-41, but a 13-2 run by the Vikings to start the fourth put the game out of reach for good.
• The Vikings out-rebounded the Flames 58-36, led by a pair of 15-rebound efforts by Savanna Crockett and Mariah Miller.

Scouting Oakland

• The Golden Grizzlies are 1-2 in conference play heading into the third weekend of Horizon League action, most recently taking a 74-67 victory over Detroit Mercy.
• Oakland comes in at fifth in the conference in scoring offense, averaging 62.9 points per game, while its defense allows 71.4 points per game.
• The Golden Grizzlies lead the conference in blocks, averaging 4.3 stops per game and average 40.3 rebounds per game to rank fourth as a team.
• Sophomore Taylor Jones paces the Golden Grizzlies and ranks fourth in the conference in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per game. Jones is also second in the Horizon League in assists, dishing out an average of 4.3 helpers per game.
• The Flames and Golden Grizzlies only have 13 all-time meetings, with the bears owning the 9-4 advantage.
• The two teams last met back in March for the first round of the Horizon League tournament, where Oakland defeated UIC 80-46 inside Little Caesar's Arena.

Up Next

• UIC will finish out the weekend at home, facing Detroit Mercy on Sunday, Jan. 13 at noon.