CHICAGO – Head coach Ashleen Bracey will be reunited with Paige Pender on the UIC women's basketball staff next season. Bracey announced that Pender will be the Flames' Director of Basketball Operations on Wednesday, May 4.
 
Pender was a graduate student manager at Missouri for the past three seasons, and a student manager for two years as an undergraduate, when Bracey was an assistant coach.
 
"I am beyond blessed to continue to work alongside Paige," said Bracey. "I have had the pleasure to watched Paige learn and grow over the past 5 years as a student-manager and graduate assistant at Mizzou. She is a tireless worker, servant leader and establishes trusted relationships. Paige embodies all the characteristics that we need in our staff to help establish a championship caliber program here at UIC."
 
The Tigers had headline-grabbing wins over then-#1 South Carolina and #15 Florida during Pender's tenure. She was the lead student manager during the 24-win 2018-19 season. As a graduate manager, Pender handled logistics of team travel and meals, assisted the coaching staff with practice and recruiting, and planned team community service opportunities.
 
Pender has deep and diverse experience as a volunteer. She has worked with Special Olympics, a medical clinic, and has mentored elementary-aged children as well as younger college students in her major.
 
Pender graduated from Missouri in 2019 with a degree in biochemistry and earned her master's degree in education from Mizzou in 2021.