CHICAGO – The UIC women's basketball team (2-18, 1-8 HL) will kick off its second half of Horizon League play on Thursday, Jan. 30 as it hosts Youngstown State (11-9, 4-5 HL). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT inside Credit Union 1 Arena.

WITH A WIN, UIC WOULD:

• Improve to 3-18 on the season
• Win its second Horizon League game of the season
• Improve to 20-22 all-time against Youngstown State
• Snap a nine-game losing streak against the Penguins
• Win its second game at home this season

LAST TIME OUT

• UIC finished the first half of Horizon League play on Saturday (Jan. 25) with an 88-49 loss to first-place IUPUI.
• The Jags put up opponent season highs in field-goal percentage (53.1 percent), three-point field goal percentage (45.2 percent) and three-point makes (14).
• For the second straight game, Tiana Jackson led the team, tallying a career-high 14 points. She also led the team with six rebounds and a personal-best five assists.
• Amira Coles finished with personal bests in both points (7) and rebounds (5).

GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS

• Tiana Jackson has had impressive freshman season for the Flames, averaging 7.3 points per game.
• Jackson owns the second-most assists on the squad with 38, giving her an average of 2.4 per contest. Her 2.4 assists per game ranks 15th in the Horizon League.
• The freshman is third on the team in shooting, making 35.9 percent of her shots overall.
• Jackson has reached double-digits on five occasions and in her last two showings consecutively, most recently scoring a team and career-high 14 points on Saturday against IUPUI (Jan. 25).
• The New Jersey native is eighth in the Horizon League in steals, averaging 1.3 takes per game.

DRIVING FOR BUCKETS

• The Flames have had success driving the ball and scoring in the paint as of late, tallying 20 points or more in the paint in seven of their last eight games.
• In six of those eight contests, at least 46 percent of UIC's total points have come from within the paint.
• In the Flames' overtime win over Oakland (Jan. 4), 70 percent (30-of-43) of UIC's points were scored inside the paint.
• Both of UIC's wins this season have come with 30 or more paint points.
• The Flames have tallied 30+ points from the paint in seven games this year, including Saturday's (Jan. 25) game against IUPUI, and they have outscored their opponents in the paint four times this season.

SCOUTING THE PENGUINS

• Youngstown State dropped its second-consecutive Horizon League matchup on Sunday (Jan. 26) with a 74-62 loss at home against Milwaukee.
• The Penguins are 4-5 through the first half of conference play, putting them in a tie for sixth with Milwaukee.
• Youngstown State leads the Horizon League in three-point makes per game, averaging eight triples per game. Its 32.4 percent three-point field goal percentage comes in at third in the conference.
• Chelsea Olson does it all for the Penguins, leading the squad in points (11.1 ppg), rebounds (8.1 per game) and assists (55). Olson comes in at 12th in the League in scoring and fourth in rebounding.
• Youngstown State improved to 22-19 all-time against the Flames after taking the season's first meeting, 77-65, back on Dec. 30.

UP NEXT

• The Flames will wrap up their three-game homestand on Saturday, Feb. 1 against Cleveland State.