CHICAGO – The UIC women's basketball team (2-11, 0-2 HL) will travel to Youngstown State (10-3, 2-0 HL) for its first Horizon League road contest of the season. The two teams will tipoff on Thursday, Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. CT.

Starting Five

• Brittany Byrd is quickly approaching the 1,000-career point mark, with 975 career points as a Flame. The senior is coming off a season-high 29-point performance on Sunday (Dec. 30) against Wright State.
• Jada Nneji continues to be a big contributor for the Flames, bringing in her second double-digit rebounding performance on Sunday with 10 rebounds.
• The Flames rank fifth in the Horizon League in blocks, averaging 3.10 stops per game. Nneji leads the block party, ranking third in the conference with an average of 1.4 blocks per game.
• UIC is second only to Cleveland State in steals, averaging 8.90 thefts per contest. Taylor Toney and Byrd come in at a tie for seventh, averaging 1.5 steals per game.
• Kiarra Thompson handed out a career-high six assists on Sunday against Wright State, becoming just one of three players to reach that mark this year. Both Toney and Wilson dished out six assists back on Nov. 17 against Loyola.

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

• Win its third game of the season
• Snap a six-game skid vs. YSU
• Capture its first Horizon League Win
• Improve to 2-4 on the road

Last Time Out

• The Flames ended its first weekend of Horizon League action on Sunday with a 79-46 loss to Wright State.
• Brittany Byrd led the Flames in points (29) and rebounds (10) for her third double-double this season.
• The Flames were kept to just 25.9 percent from the field, while Wright State sank 42.3 percent of all their shots. Wright State was also stronger beyond the arc, making 36.1 percent of their threes compared to 25 percent for UIC.
• The two teams were close in rebounds, with Wright State having a slight edge, 44-42.
• The Raiders made 21 points off 21 UIC turnovers. The Flames capitalized on just 12 Wright State turnovers by turning them into 19 points.

Points on the Penguins

• Youngstown State is on a three-game win streak, including wins over Horizon League foes Detroit Mercy and Oakland.
• The Penguins defeated the Titans 85-59 on Friday (Dec. 28) and the Golden Grizzlies on Sunday (Dec. 30) by a final tally of 69-55.
• Youngstown State is third in the League in scoring offense, averaging 69.2 points per game, and is second in scoring defense, keeping opponents to just 55.5 points per game.
•  The Penguins also own the top rebounding margin in the conference, averaging 8.0 more boards per contest than their opponents.
• Thursday's contest will break a 19-19 all-time tie between Youngstown State and UIC, but the Penguins have taken the last six meetings between the two teams.

Up Next

• UIC will end its first Horizon League road trip with Cleveland State on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 12 p.m. CT.