COLUMBUS, Ohio – The UIC women's basketball team begins its 2026-27 season Monday night, in Columbus, Ohio as they take on Big Ten conference opponent Ohio State. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (CT) at the Schottenstein Center for the Flames and No. 18 Buckeyes.
 
This is the first game for the Flames against an AP-Ranked opponent since hosting No. 5 LSU on Dec. 19, 2024.
 
A livestream will be available on B1G+, while live stats will be available on UICFlames.com.
 
UIC FLAMES at OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
Date | Time – Monday, Nov. 2^nd | 5:30 p.m. CT
Location – Columbus, Ohio / Schottenstein Center
Live Stream | Live Stats
 
HISTORY vs OHIO STATE

Monday's matchup will be the second meeting all-time between Flames and Buckeyes. Their only other meeting was on Feb. 3, 1979, with Ohio State coming away with a 61-60 victory.

MORE ON THE BUCKEYES

Ohio State is coming off a 27-8 record and a Round of 32 appearance in the NCAA Tournament a season ago. The Buckeyes reached the Big Ten Semifinals before falling to the eventual Big Ten and NCAA Champion UCLA, 72-62.

In head coach Ryan McGruff's 14th season, Ohio State starts the season ranked 18th in the Preseason AP Top 25 rankings.

Junior Jaloni Cambridge was named to the Coaches and Media Preseason All-Big Ten Team, as well as watchlists for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award and the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year Award. Cambridge earned All-America honors from various publications last season after averaging 23.2 points per game and scoring 30-plus points seven times.

FLAMES SEASON PREVIEW

UIC enters the 2026-27 season with five returners who will be joined by nine newcomers. The returners are headlined by junior Julia Coleman, who earned three postseason conference honors last year. The Flames finished the 2025-26 campaign 14-18 with a 9-11 conference record.

Four Flames were named to the Missouri Valley Conference Players to Watch list, with senior Nevaeh Foster, junior TuTu Clayton, junior Julia Coleman and junior Salma Khedr receiving the honors.

Foster and Khedr will provide an offensive spark for the Flames after each averaged over 10 points per game in 2025-26 at their previous schools. They join two of the top three Flames scorers from last season in Coleman and Clayton.

Entering head coach Ashleen Bracey's fifth year, the Flames were selected to finish sixth in the MVC.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
 
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_wbband @uicflames).