After a lengthy road trip that spanned over the holidays have completed, the Flames (8-5, 0-2) have finally returned home to Credit Union 1 Arena to begin a four-game stand over the next two weeks, beginning with the Indiana State Sycamores (5-6, 0-2) Thursday night.

This is the first time each of these teams have competed on the hardwood in well over a year. The Sycamores currently lead the series between both programs, 12-3. The Flames last victory over the
Sycamores was back on Nov. 30, 2017, in a 55-46 win at home.

The Flames and the Sycamores are each fighting for their first win in conference play, as both loss each of their games this past weekend.  

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm and is available to stream on ESPN+

READY TO FIGHT FOR FIRST MVC WIN

• After a strong start in non-conference, the Flames have begun to embark on taking on the Missouri Valley Conference this past week. Beginning out on the road, the Flames fell short to the Murray State Racers, 68-55 on Friday, Dec. 30. Leading the Flames offensively by Jaida McCloud, who scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds. Kristian Young also scored 11 points and had a season high 5 steals.
• On New Year's Day, the Belmont Bruins fended the Flames off early and kept their lead throughout the game, 72-59. The Flames were led offensively by McCloud who finished the game with 23 points and nine rebounds. 
• 15 of the 23 points McCloud scored came from her work at the charity stripe, going 15-for-18, which was a career high. The Flames finished the game going 25-for-28 in the game, landing 89.3% of their free throws, a season high. 

 
BENCH KEEPS BATTLING

• The Flames have continued to shine in productive minutes coming from their reserves entering the year. In their defeat to Belmont, the Flames outscored the Bruin's bench, 28-26.
• Big contributions came from the likes of Ky Dempsey-Toney scoring eight points and grabbing five rebounds. Danyel Middleton also scored 10.
• This is the eleventh game of the season that the Flames bench outscored their opponents.

 
NOTABLE DEFENSIVE STATS

• The Flames slid down to second in the MVC regarding scoring defense. On average, they hold their opponents to 58.4 points per game.
• Dempsey-Toney is the 6^th best shot blocker in the conference, with 18 blocks so far this season. She averages over 1.4 a game.
• After stealing the ball five different times against Murray State, Young has broken into the top 10 in this category. She currently averages 1.5 steals a game, making her the eighth best in the conference.

SYCAMORES ARE READY TO PLAY

• The Sycamores are known for strong defensive play, as they ranked 2^nd in the conference with 18.36 forced turnovers a game. A lot of that is due to Anna McKendree who leads the league with 2.9 steals per game.
• Collectively, the team averages around 8.8 steals per game.
• They are led offensively by Del' Janae Williams who averages 12.3 points a game, making her one of the top 20 scorers in the MVC.