CHICAGO – The UIC women's basketball team (1-10) kicks off Horizon League action on Saturday, Dec. 28 on the road against Cleveland State (10-1). The Flames and Vikings are set to tip off at 1 p.m. CT inside Cleveland State's Wolstein Center.

LAST TIME OUT

• UIC finished out its non-conference schedule on Wednesday, Dec. 18 with a 68-59 loss to Eastern Michigan at home.
• The Flames held on to a two-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but a 24-point output by the Eagles in the final 10 minutes pushed them over the edge.
• The Flames ended the day with a season high field goal percentage of 47.7 percent (21-of-53) overall, a 10 percent increase from the team's previous season high shooting percentage.
• UIC also sank a season-high eight threes and finished the night shooting 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from beyond the arc as a squad.

KEYS TO THE GAME

• Junior Kiarra Thompson has reached double figures three times this season, including a career-high 19-point performance on Dec. 18 against Eastern Michigan.
• The Merrillville, Ind. native also collected 14 points in the season opener at Purdue Fort Wayne (Nov. 7) and picked up 10 points at Kansas State (Nov. 11).
• Thompson's four threes against Purdue Fort Wayne and Eastern Michigan were a personal best.
• Thompson leads the squad with 13 triples, and she also has the second-most attempts with 47. The longball shooter averages 1.2 treys per game to rank 19th in the Horizon League.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

• The Flames rank second in the Horizon League in shooting defense, with opponents shooting 38.7 percent overall.
• UIC's opposition is shooting 29.2 percent from beyond the arc, which also ranks second in the Horizon League.
• The Flames also rank fourth in the conference in steals (7.73 per game), second in blocked shots (4.09 per game) and fourth in defensive rebounds (26.6 per game).
• Three Flames rank in the League's top-20 in steals: Kimeira Burks (9th, 1.4 per game), Tylah Lampley (10th, 1.4 per game) and Abreanna Lake (15th, 1.2 per game).
• Nneji leads the league and averages 1.0 blocks per game more than any other player in the conference. Lampley also comes in the League's top ten, averaging 0.7 blocks per game.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS

• Cleveland State is off to its best start in program history, winning 10 straight games for a 10-1 showing in non-conference action.
• The Vikings lead the Horizon League in both scoring offense (73.1 points per game) and scoring defense (57.5 points per game). They also lead the conference in shooting, making 44.4 percent of their shots overall while keeping their opponents to a League-leading 35.8 percent.
• Senior Mariah Miller leads the Horizon League, averaging 21.4 points per game. Miller is the only player in the conference to average above 20 points per game.
• Savannah Crockett pulls down an average of 7.6 rebounds per game to pace Cleveland State and rank fifth in the conference.
• UIC last faced Cleveland State at home on Feb. 8, falling 74-48.

UP NEXT

• The Flames continue their Horizon League-opening road trip at Youngstown State on Monday, Dec. 30.