SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The University of Illinois Springfield women's basketball team plays its GLVC home-opener this week when it hosts Quincy and Truman State. Game times are set for Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m., respectively.
QUICK HITS

• The Prairie Stars are 4-6 overall after dropping their first two conference games to UMSL and Maryville last weekend.
• The team welcomed back Caroline Kelty, Jameeshia Armstrong and Makeba Elliot last weekend after the trio missed the team's last five games of 2014. Armstrong averaged 12 pts in her first two games back.
• The Prairie Stars have won their last three home games and are 3-1 at TRAC this season.
• UIS' 104 points on Dec. 10 is the most it has ever scored in a game.

NEWS AND NOTES
Welcome Back
The team welcomed back Caroline Kelty, Jameeshia Armstrong and Makeba Elliot after the trio missed the team's last five games in 2014. In her first two games back, Armstrong is averaging 12 points per game and scored a career-high 15 last Sunday against Maryville.

That's... Intersting
On January 4 against Maryville, both team's made the exact same number of shots in the second half. UIS shot 15-34 from the floor and 8-11 from the free throw line. Maryville went 15-37 from the floor and 8-9 from the charity stripe. The difference? Maryville connected on five three pointers to UIS' one.

Hold Onto That Ball Petey!
In four wins this season the Prairie Stars average 16 turnovers per game. In six losses, the team has turned the ball over nearly 20 times per game. UIS is just 1-3 when it commits 20+ turnovers and is 3-3 when it commits fewer than 20 turnovers.

Home-Cooking
This season, the Prairie Stars are 3-1 at home and have won their last three games at TRAC.  In four home games this season, the team is shooting 44 percent from the field (112-253) as opposed to just 37 percent (120-321) on the road.

Stepping Up to the Plate
Senior Courtney Knuckles is averaging 10.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in her second season at UIS. Last year, the Poplar Bluff native averaged 6.2 points and 1.9 rebounds. She has scored in double figures in six of the last seven games including a career-high 24 points against Robert Morris Peoria on December 10.

Quincy (Division II Era): Quincy Leads Series 8-1
This is the tenth meeting between these two teams since UIS joined NCAA Division II. The program's lone win against Quincy came back in the 2011-12 season by a score of 67-63.

This Season:
The Hawks are 5-6 on the season after dropping both its games last weekend to No. 2 Lewis and UW-Parkside. Against the Rangers, a basket with six seconds left gave UWP a 55-54 victory. Senior guard Carly Bettencourt leads the team in nearly every offensive category. She is the team's lone double-digit scorer this season, averaging 10.5 points per game.

Truman State (Division II Era): Truman Leads Series 3-0
This is the fourth meeting between these two teams since UIS joined Division II. Last season, the Prairie Stars fell to the Bulldogs in Kirksville, 94-65.

This Season:
The Bulldogs are 8-3 this season and 2-1 in GLVC play. Last weekend, TSU defeated UW-Parkside before falling to No. 2 Lewis on Sunday. Truman sits in fourth place in the GLVC West division.