CARBONDALE, Ill. (Jan. 3, 2023) – The UIC women's basketball team (7-5, 0-1 MVC) will stay on the road for two more conference clashes, facing Southern Illinois on Thursday and Missouri State on Saturday. The upcoming contest against the Salukis is the second of UIC's season-long three-game conference road trip to open MVC play.

GAME INFORMATION at SIU (5-6, 0-1 MVC)
Thursday, Jan. 4 | 6 p.m. CT
Banterra Center | Carbondale, Ill.
ESPN
Live Stats
 
GAME INFORMATION at Missouri State (7-3, 1-0 MVC)
Saturday, Jan. 6 | 1 p.m. CT
Great Southern Bank Arena | Springfield, Mo.
ESPN
Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
UIC fell to Belmont 69-61 in its Missouri Valley Conference season opener on Saturday. Tied at 50 with 1:24 remaining in the third quarter, the Bruins went on a 19-11 scoring run over the final 11 minutes of the game to defeat the Flames.

Graduate student guard Keimari Rimmer (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East/DePaul) led the Flames with 21 points, shooting nine of 11 from the floor and two of three from behind the arc. Forward Makiyah Williams (Chicago, Ill./Trinity/Marquette) was the other Flame to score in double figures, as the junior finished with ten points.

Rimmer earned MVC Newcomer of the Week Wednesday afternoon for her performance against the Bruins. She is the second UIC player to receive a weekly honor from the MVC this season, following Williams, who earned the same award on Nov. 20. Rimmer is also the third UIC player chosen as MVC Newcomer of the Week since UIC joined The Valley prior to last season.

For the season, Rimmer ranks among the top 20 in the Missouri Valley Conference in steals (4^th – 2.3 spg), field-goal percentage (6^th – .526), scoring (16^th – 12.4 ppg) and rebounding (20^th – 5.7 rpg).

SCOUTING SIU
Southern Illinois finished nonconference with a record of 5-5, with a key win against Saint Louis (75-67), and losses against Power Five opponents Oklahoma State (76-58), and West Virginia (73-55). SIU opened conference play with a 78-59 loss to Drake at home. However, the Salukis continue to force turnovers at a heavy rate. After forcing 28 turnovers against Drake on Saturday, Southern Illinois is ranked 32^nd in the country, forcing 20.91 turnovers per game. SIU has forced at least 20 turnovers in six games this season. The 28 forced turnovers are the second-most the team has forced in a game this season, with 29 vs. Charlotte on Nov. 23 being a season-high.

Individually, Laniah Randle is leading the Salukis in scoring and rebounding, averaging 17.0 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game.

SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE
Missouri State is currently riding an eight-game home win streak dating back to last season with the Lady Bears' last home loss coming on Feb. 19, 2023 against Belmont. The Lady Bears are 17-4 at home under head coach Beth Cunningham and have won 14 of their last 15 games at Great Southern Bank Arena.

Missouri State has won its last three games (vs. UNI, vs. WKU, vs. BYU) by a combined four points. The Lady Bears have come up clutch in close games so far this season - owning a 4-0 record in games decided by five points or less.

In the team's first MVC game of the season, junior Lacy Stokes hit a buzzer beater to propel Missouri State past Northern Iowa 54-52. The point guard is the leading scorer (11.6 ppg), while Indya Green is the team's top rebounder (7.4 rpg).

In the Beth Cunningham era, the Lady Bears are 17-1 when scoring 70+ points. Under Cunningham, Missouri State is 20-0 when allowing 65 points or less and 26-3 when holding opponents to 70 points or less.

FOLLOW THE FLAMES
Tickets for all UIC home basketball games can be purchased online through Ticketmaster and UICFlames.com/Tickets, as well as through the UIC Athletics Ticket Office (312-413-UIC1) or by visiting the Credit Union 1 Arena box office on game night.

For more information on UIC women's basketball, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_WBB and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_wbb and @uicflames).