CHICAGO – The UIC women's basketball team (1-2) will make its Horizon League debut this weekend as it travels to Oakland (0-2). The Flames and the Golden Grizzlies will face off for a pair of games set to be played on Saturday, Dec. 12 and Sunday, Dec. 13 inside Oakland's Athletic Center O'Rena. Both games will tipoff at 2 p.m. CT and will be broadcasted on ESPN+.

WITH A WIN, UIC WOULD:

• Win their second road game
• Improve to 2-2 on the season
• Win their first Horizon League game of the season
• Improve to 7-11 all-time against Oakland

LAST TIME OUT

• The UIC women's basketball team wrapped up the non-conference portion of its schedule on Dec. 5 with an 80-76 loss at Western Michigan.
• The Flames nearly erased a 12-point Western Michigan lead, outscoring the Broncos 28-22 in the final frame, but their comeback ultimately fell short.
• Freshman Jaida McCloud turned in an impressive 26-point performance to lead all players once again, while also adding 10 rebounds to record her first double-double in a UIC jersey.
• Kristian Young also turned in an impressive stat line for the Flames, tallying 13 points, four rebounds, six assists and six steals.
• Daijah Smith was also in double figures for UIC, accumulating 17 points to go with four rebounds.

ON MCCLOUD NINE

• Freshman Jaida McCloud was named Horizon League Freshman of the Week on Dec. 7 after picking up her first career double-double at Western Michigan (Dec. 5) with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
• McCloud's weekly award was the first for the Flames since 2016.
• The freshman shot 11-of-22 overall and was 1-of-3 from beyond the arc against the Broncos. Her 11 field goals made were the most by any player since Brittany Byrd's 13 field-goal showing at Cleveland State on Jan. 6, 2018.
• McCloud has made a strong early impression, turning in double-digit showings in all three games so far. she leads both the Flames and the Horizon League with 19.7 points per game.
• The Peoria, Ill. native also leads the Flames and ranks fifth in the Horizon League in rebounds, averaging 8.3 rebounds per game.
• McCloud is shooting a team-high .490 so far, good for third highest in the conference.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES

• Oakland is still seeking its first win of the season, carrying an 0-2 record into the start of Horizon League action.
• The Golden Grizzlies fell to No. 25 Michigan (95-62) and Toledo (71-59) during non-conference play.
• Oakland has two players averaging double figures in scoring in Alona Blackwell (15.0 ppg) and Kahlaijah Dean (13.5 ppg).
• Sydney Gouard leads the Golden Grizzlies on the boards, averaging 5.5 rebounds per game.
• Jalisha Terry, Brianna Breedy and Blackwell each own four assists on the young season to lead Oakland.
• The Golden Grizzlies offense currently ranks sixth in the League, averaging 60.5 points per game. It also ranks sixth in field goal percentage (.368).
• Oakland owns an 11-6 all-time lead in the series, but the two teams have split the last four meetings, 2-2. The last time the two teams met (Feb. 6, 2020), the Golden Grizzlies came out on top, 63-46, on their own turf.