CHICAGO – UIC women's basketball head coach Ashleen Bracey announced Thursday afternoon that Sandra Frau-Garcia will be transferring to UIC to join the Flames for the 2023-24 season. The incoming junior has two years of eligibility after beginning her career at Casper College in Wyoming.

Frau-Garcia is now the fourth student-athlete to transfer to UIC to play for the program. She joins Keimari Rimmer, Krystna Ellew and Makiyah Williams, who all committed last week.

"We are thrilled to welcome Sandra Frau-Garcia to our women's basketball family" Bracey said. "Sandra is an experienced point guard that has a knack for filling up a stat line. She is a committed defender, as well as an incredible passer and playmaker. She plays an up-tempo style that will continue to help us elevate our program offensively. Frau-Garcia brings a highly competitive spirit, toughness and team-first mentality that will be impactful for the next two seasons. She comes to us from a winning program and is committed to our championship vision."

In 58 games with the Thunderbirds, Frau-Garcia started in 56 games over the past two seasons. Frau-Garcia played a role in helping the Thunderbirds to two Region IX North titles, two National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Tournament appearances and an overall record of 58-9. She was also a two-time All-Region-9 team and a National Junior College Athletics Association second team All-American.

During her freshman season, Frau-Garcia made her Thunderbird debut with an eight-point performance in a 116-39 win over Community Christian College on Nov. 5, 2021. In the opening round of the 2022 NJCAA Division 1 Tournament game against Hutchinson Community College, Frau-Garcia scored a season-high 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds.

Frau-Garcia scored in double figures in 10 different games over her sophomore season, including three 20+ points performances. Her top performance came against Laramie County Community College back on Feb. 8, when she scored a career-high 23 points, 10 assists and four steals. Frau-Garcia also had two triple-doubles throughout the season. On Feb. 18 against Laramie County, the guard scored 16 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and 10 assists in an 81-67 victory. She neared a quadruple-double with a 12-point, 14-rebound, 10-assist and nine steal performance against Western Wyoming Community College on Feb. 25. The team finished ranked No. 15 in the NJCAA DI rankings.

Frau-Garcia ranked third in the NJCAA in total assists (230) and first in her region. She also finished first in the region in assists per game (6.8). In addition, Frau-Garcia ranked first in the region in steals (3.1) per game. She finished first in total steals (104), third in total rebounds (242) and assists (230).

Prior to her time at Casper, Frau-Garcia grew up in Spain, where she won a bronze medal in the juvenile and children's categories in the Spanish championship with the Valencian team. She was awarded the best local athlete in 2017 by the Pego City Council. That year, she finished tenth in the Spanish club championship. In 2019, Frau-Garcia was selected as the best women's base basketball player in the Valencian Community.