SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - In a game that featured nine ties and five lead changes, the University of Illinois Springfield women's basketball team came up just short, dropping a 49-44 decision to Lake Superior State at the GLVC/GLIAC Crossover on Saturday.

The Prairie Stars trailed by just one point, 45-44, after a Syerra Cunningham (Beach Park, Ill.) layup with 47 seconds left in the game. The Lakers were perfect from the free throw line in the final minute, going for 4-for-4 to put the game out of reach.

Cunningham finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds, including six offensive boards, for her first double-double as a Prairie Star. She was the only UIS player in double-figures. 10 players for UIS scored in the game and 11 different players grabbed at least one rebound.

For the second straight night the Prairie Stars struggled from the field, shooting just 32 percent (16-50) and 17 percent from long range (3-17).

Lake Superior's Stephanie Fisher finished with a game-high 16 points. Kandace Crittendon pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.

UIS led for much of the first period behind Cunningham's 11 first-half points. The Prairie Stars held a four-point edge, 19-15, at the 6:47 minute mark after a jumper from sophomore Caroline Kelty (River Forest, Ill.). Lake Superior ended the half on an 8-2 run to take a 23-21 lead into the break.

Illinois Springfield owned a plus-one rebounding margin in the first stanza but turned the ball over twice as much (10-5) as the host Lakers.

Lake Superior extended its lead early in the second period to as many as seven (30-23) points after a bucket by April LaCrosse. The Prairie Stars responded with a 7-0 run over the next 90 seconds, capped off by a three-pointer from junior Jameeshia Armstrong (Chicago, Ill.). The game remained close as the teams traded buckets over the next six minutes, including a four-minute stretch where neither team scored.

With the score tied at 33 with 6:56 remaining in the game, junior Meredith Marti (Indianapolis, Ind.) broke the deadlock with her second three-pointer of the game to give UIS a 36-33 lead. Another run by the Lakers, this time an 8-0 run in which the Prairie Stars were 0-for-3 from the field, gave Lake Superior a 41-36 lead which they would not give up again.

UIS owned the glass in the second half and finished the game with a plus-seven advantage on the boards (44-37).

The Prairie Stars play their third consecutive road game when they travel to Concordia-Chicago on Wednesday at 7 p.m.