HOUSTON – The HCU women's basketball team continues its four-game homestand on Thursday evening, hosting UIW at 6:00 p.m. inside Sharp Gym for the second meeting between the teams this season.

The Huskies (5-11, 3-6 SLC) enter the matchup tied for eighth in the Southland Conference standings and are coming off a strong 65-52 home win over East Texas A&M. The Cardinals (8-8, 6-3 SLC) arrive in Houston following back-to-back victories over ETAMU and Northwestern State. HCU and UIW met on January 3 in San Antonio where HCU held a late lead before falling 56–52. Freshman Kamryn McLaurin led the Huskies with 11 points while junior Jordan Jackson added 10 in the loss.

McLaurin enters the game averaging a team-best 13.2 points per contest while shooting 48.9% from the field and owning a team-best 30 steals on the season. Grace Booth remains a key presence on both ends, averaging 11.0 points and a team-leading 7.3 rebounds per game. In the Huskies' win over ETAMU last Saturday, McLaurin scored a team-high 18 points off the bench while Hannah Fields matched her career-high with 11 points and Tove Caesar set a new career-best with eight assists.

UIW brings a balanced lineup into Thursday's contest. Brynn Lusby leads the Cardinals with 10.8 points per game overall and 13.2 per game in Southland play while shooting 53.5% from the field. Jorja Elliott adds 10.1 points per outing and leads the team in both steals (23) and blocks (9). In the frontcourt, Raimi McCrary anchors UIW on the boards with 7.8 rebounds per game overall and 8.0 in SLC action, while Madison Cockrell averages 10.7 points per game in conference play and leads the team with 42 total assists.

As the conference standings tighten, Thursday's matchup marks an important opportunity for the Huskies as they prepare for a home-and-home series with UT Rio Grande Valley on January 24 and January 29. HCU hosts the Vaqueros in Sharp Gym on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.