Preview: Illinois-Chicago at Indiana State TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (Interstat) — Two Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball teams seeking momentum will meet Thursday when the Illinois-Chicago Flames visit the Indiana State Sycamores at Hulman Center. The Flames (11-14) enter having lost a heartbreaker, falling 79-77 at Murray State on Sunday. UIC’s Amelia Strong was a force in that loss, scoring 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds in 26 minutes. The junior forward has been inconsistent but impactful in flashes, including an 11-point performance in a win over Illinois State last month. She will be a key factor for a Flames squad that won the season’s first meeting 70-57 in Chicago on Jan. 4. Indiana State (8-17) looks to snap a four-game skid, most recently an 88-70 defeat at Drake. Sycamores forward Jayci Allen is coming off one of her best performances of the season, recording a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in that contest. Allen has been a consistent producer, scoring in double figures in six of her last seven games. Both teams have struggled for consistency in conference play. The Flames have alternated wins and losses over their last six games. The Sycamores’ recent slide followed a brief two-game win streak in late January. The matchup pits UIC’s ability to capitalize on its earlier victory against the Sycamores’ desire for home-court revenge. Indiana State will need to contain Strong and UIC’s Jessica Carrothers, who scored 21 against Murray State, while finding scoring beyond Allen to improve its record at Hulman Center. Thursday’s game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. EST tip-off.