RIVER FOREST, Ill. - Sophomore Caroline Kelty (River Forest, Ill.) notched her first double-double as a Prairie Star with 21 points and 10 rebounds as the University of Illinois Springfield women's basketball team held on to defeat the Concordia-Chicago Cougars, 71-65, Wednesday night at Geiseman Gymnasium.

Playing in her hometown, Kelty delivered her best game yet, scoring a game-high 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to help UIS end its two-game skid.

The Prairie Stars rebounded from poor shooting efforts in their first two games to shoot 45 percent from the field on Wednesday. UIS built a 15-point lead heading into halftime as the team shot a blistering 53 percent (15-28) in the opening period.

UIS led by as many as 18 in the second half. With the score in the Prairie Stars' favor, 66-50, with 3:23 left in the game, Concordia-Chicago came roaring back with a 15-4 run over the next three minutes to make the score, 70-65. UIS held on, going 3-for-4 from the charity stripe in the final 30 seconds to put the game out of reach and pick up their first win of the season.

UIS won the battle of the boards, 50-35, as ten different Prairie Stars grabbed at least one rebound. The visitors overcame a season-high 27 turnovers in the victory.

The game started slowly with the first basket scored at the 17:41 minute mark by Kelty. The Prairie Stars scored the game's first six points before the Cougars got on the board. Several minutes later, with the Springfield squad ahead, 12-11, UIS broke the game open with an 24-4 run, including nine points from Kelty. Illinois Springfield led, 38-23 at the break. Junior Briana Starks (Hutchinson, Kan.) was perfect from the field in the first period, scoring eight points to go with three rebounds and a steal.

The Prairie Stars are back in action for the home-opener on Saturday, Nov. 22 against Southwest Baptist. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.