UIC Flames set to host LSU on Thursday

The UIC Flames women’s basketball team will host the Louisiana State University Tigers for the second time in program history on Thursday. The teams previously met at the 2007 Caribbean Challenge in Cancun, Mexico.

Coming into the competition with a losing record this season, the Flames (2-5) are looking to host the previous national champions with a focus on the scoreboard.

Head coach Ashleen Bracey is entering her third season with the Flames, heralding a career about consistency. Bracey has led the team to the most consecutive postseason appearances since the early 2000s.

Freshman Chantel “Tutu” Clayton has been a standout player for the Flames since her signing during Bracey’s second season with the program. The St. Louis native guard posted a career-high in points, assists, and steals during the Flames’ recent game against North Central. Clayton joins graduate student Jaida McCloud at the top of the Flames’ scoring leaderboard this season. McCloud earned a double-double against North Central and has made her mark on UIC’s history book, currently sitting as the Flames’ ninth-ranked scorer (1,356 pts) in program history after the 2023-24 season.

So far, LSU is 13-0 this season, with junior Flau’Jae Johnson averaging 20.8 points per game. The Tigers average 93.5 ppg as a team, while the Flames only average 70.1.

Head coach Kim Mulkey leads the Tigers to Chicago, welcoming home Simeon High School graduate and former DePaul University guard Aneesah Morrow back to the city. The Tigers were last season’s NCAA champions, defeating Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes with a women’s basketball viewership record of 16.1 million on ESPN.

LSU’s appearance on Chicago’s west side has garnered unsurprising media attention, as the Chicago Sky drafted LSU standout graduate Angel Reese in the first round of the 2024 WNBA draft. Speculation of Reese’s attendance at the game comes with a homecoming for the Sky, whose home arena was the Credit Union 1 Arena from 2006-09.

The Flames and Tigers tip off at 8 p.m. ET Thursday in Chicago, with the game broadcasted on ESPN+.