MOLINE, Ill. – No. 6 UIC women's basketball is set to compete in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament against No. 3 UNI Friday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT and the game will be available to stream on ESPN+.

MATCH-UP BREAKDOWN

• This will be the third time this season UIC and UNI will compete on the hardwood. Northern Iowa defeated UIC in both contests, winning 79-44 on Jan. 21 and 55-47 on Feb. 10.
• UNI currently leads the overall series against UIC, 12-5. The Panthers have won the last five meetings, with UIC's last win over UNI coming in Dec. 2003.
• UIC leads the MVC in scoring defense, holding opponents to only 57.9 points per game.
• The Panthers have one of the strongest offenses in the MVC, and are second in the conference in points per game (75.2) and shooting percentage (44.2 %).
• UNI's sophomore tandem of Grace Boffeli (16.2 PPG) was named to the All-MVC First Team while Maya McDermott (14.6 PPG) was named the MVC Most Improved Player and a member of the All-MVC Second Team.
• UIC Gr. forward Josie Filer was recognized named to the All-MVC Third Team and All-MVC Newcomer team. Senior Tiana Jackson was named as an All-MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention. 

FLAMES DOMINATE VALPARAISO

• No. 6 UIC left a strong first impression in the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament as the Flames routed No. 11 Valparaiso 72-47 in the opening round of Hoops in the Heartland.
• The victory was UIC's first win in a conference tournament game since the 2016-17 season and also the Flames' first postseason win as a member of the MVC.
• UIC was led offensively by Josie Filer, who scored a team-high 22 points and collected eight rebounds. Jaida McCloud scored 16 points and added four rebounds and three assists.
• The Flames defense prevented the Beacons from recording a single offensive rebound in the game. UIC had 35 total rebounds (13 offensive, 22 defensive) in the victory.
• UIC attempted 58 shots from the floor compared to Valparaiso's 37. The Flames finished the night going 46.6% from the floor.
• Three Flames (Josie Filer, Jaida McCloud, Sara Zabrecky) played more than 30 of the games' 40 minutes, with Kristian Young playing for 27 minutes. Danyel Middleton added 23 minutes off the bench.
• UIC capitalized off turnovers in its victory over Valparaiso. The Flames scored 29 points off turnovers, compared to the Beacons' five.

TEAM SEND OFF

• Fans can join members of the UIC band, spirit team, and Sparky in the lobby of Hotel Blackhawk at 6:30 p.m. for a team send off celebration.
• Flames fans are encouraged to wear UIC gear or colors to the event to help cheer the Flames to victory.
• Stay up to date on the team send off by following the Flames on social media.

TICKETS

• Tickets are still available for all of UIC's remaining games at Hoops in the Heartland.
• Fans can purchase Session 2 tickets by calling UIC's athletics ticketing office at (312) 413-UIC1 (8421) or by emailing athleticsticketing@uic.edu.
• All Hoops in the Heartland Tickets will be mobile.
• Vibrant Arena at THE MARK is under a three hour drive from UIC's campus for fans interested in driving out for remaining games. To find more information on hotels in the Quad Cities, go to the Hoops in the Heartland webpage.

QUAD CITIES INFORMATION

• To remain up to date throughout the tournament, fans are encouraged to go to UIC's Hoops in the Heartland fan page. They can find directions to Vibrant Arena at the MARK, hotel information and what to know about the Quad Cities before arriving to the game.