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Women’s Basketball: Season Preview
The UIC women’s basketball team ushers in a new era of Flames basketball in 2022-23 with a new head coach, a new team and a new conference.
Head coach Ashleen Bracey was announced as the 13th head coach in program history on March 28. No stranger to the Missouri Valley Conference, Bracey was a three-year starter at Illinois State, helping the Redbirds to three postseason appearances.
Junior Jaida McCloud returns to the lineup after earning All-League Second Team honors a year ago. One of two players on the team to start all 27 games last season, McCloud led the team in scoring and rebounding in 2021-22, averaging 16.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Kristian Young is back for her junior year after finishing second on the team with 9.9 points per game a season ago. Young lead the team in assists (96) and steals (59).
Senior Tiana Jackson provides a veteran presence among the returning Flames, having played 50 career games with 41 starts over the past three years. Jackson, who has averaged 7.1 points per game in her career, will look to bounce back after an injury limited the senior to just five contests in 2021-22.
Keona Schenck was the other Flame to start all 27 contests last season, averaging a team-leading 34.5 minutes per game. The junior scored 5.9 points per game while ranking third on the team with 47 steals. Lindsey Rogers, Ky Dempsey-Toney, Leah
Yarbrough, Bailey Lutes and Kennady Schenck are all back and will look to provide depth to the UIC roster.
The Flames also have had an influx of talent with six new players, including four collegiate transfers.
Danyel Middleton returns home to Chicago after spending her first two seasons at Marquette. Josie Filer joins the Flames as a graduate student following a successful playing career at Omaha. Sara Zabrecky is the third upperclassmen to join Bracey’s inaugural recruiting class after a two-year stint at St. John’s. Additionally, Dylan Van Fleet enters her junior season after spending her first two years at Morton College.
UIC also welcomed a pair of freshmen in Nora Ahram from nearby Hoffman Estates and Marta Gomez by way of Madrid, Spain.
The team will embark on its inaugural season as members of the Missouri Valley Conference this season, becoming the 12th member of the historic league.