In her three seasons as head coach of the University of Illinois Chicago women’s basketball team, Oak Park native Ashleen Bracey has rejuvenated a once-downtrodden program. She has guided the Flames to three consecutive postseason appearances: the Women’s Basketball Invitational in 2023, and the Women’s National Invitational Tournament the last two seasons.
At Credit Union One Arena, March 21, UIC (15-18) notched its first WNIT victory, rallying to defeat the University of Alabama Birmingham 63-48. Trailing 42-40 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Flames ran off 15 consecutive points to pull away from the Blazers. Keimari Rimmer led UIC with a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds. Krystyna Ellew scored 11 points, and Ky Dempsey-Toney and Danyel Middleton each added 10 points.
Bracey has built her program around defense. Against UAB, UIC forced 22 turnovers, including 15 steals. The Flames also outrebounded the Blazers 37-26.
“Incredibly proud of our group tonight,” Bracey said. “I thought it was an incredible job on the boards; it was really important for us to outrebound them.”
On March 23, UIC went on the road for a second-round WNIT game against Butler University. After falling behind early, the Flames kept fighting back. But they went scoreless for the final two and a half minutes of the contest, and Butler handed UIC a season-ending 61-54 defeat.
But the loss should not diminish what Bracey, a 2006 Oak Park and River Forest High School graduate, has accomplished in the last three years. She amassed 37 victories in her first two seasons, equaling the total win count of UIC’s previous seven years. While more work needs to be done, she believes the program is heading in the right direction.
UIC women’s basketball head coach Ashleen Bracey, an Oak Park native, paces the sidelines during a game this season. (Courtesy of UIC Athletics) 
UIC women’s basketball head coach Ashleen Bracey (third from left), an Oak Park native, huddles up with her team and staff before a game this season. (Courtesy of UIC Athletics/Mark Black)
“We’ve been building, brick by brick, the past three seasons,” she said. “There’s a lot of people who have put in a lot of work to get here, and I’m proud to see it pay off for them.”
Bracey, who has a 52-51 overall record as UIC coach, added that having success near her hometown is very gratifying and she is hopeful it will continue for some time to come.
“It’s amazing to be home,” she said. “The most amazing thing is how much support we have. Our attendance has grown exponentially since we took over, and a lot of it is our families, our friends, and people who support us. I love that part.
“My plan was to build. I took over a very struggling program. I never put a timeline of how long it would take, but I was committed to leaving this place better than I found it and continuing to take it to new heights.”
While UIC loses up to 12 seniors potentially and will likely be rebuilding next season, as long as Bracey is around, the Flames should remain competitive.