ROLLA, Mo. - After leading by as many as eight points early in the second half, the University of Illinois Springfield women's basketball team couldn't hang on to the lead, eventually falling to Missouri S&T, 82-70, Saturday afternoon at Billy Key Court.

A strong first-half performance from UIS saw the visitors take a 40-34 lead into halftime. Four different players scored at least eight points in the first period led by junior Jameeshia Armstrong (Chicago, Ill.) with nine. She finished the game with a team-high 16 points. The Prairie Stars shot 11-for-13 from the charity stripe while S&T only made two free throws in the half.

UIS quickly built a six-point lead in the opening minutes of the game after three-pointers on three consecutive possessions, two of which came from Armstrong. The Prairie Stars held the lead for 12:30 minutes of the half. A 10-0 run late in the period gave S&T a 27-24 advantage with 5:46 to go. The visitors responded with a 12-0 run of its own, capped off by six straight points from sophomore Caroline Kelty (River Forest, Ill.). She finished with eight points, her most since January 19 against McKendree. UIS took a six-point lead into the break.

The Prairie Stars led 42-34 after a layup from Armstrong to open the second stanza. A 10-2 run by the Miners finished off with a traditional three-point play from Brittany Andersen tied the game at 44 a-piece. The teams traded buckets over the next four minutes and the score was again tied, 52-52, after a jumper from senior Cassie Wolfe (Plainfield, Ill.). Wolfe finished with a season-high 12 points in the game.

Another run by the hosts, this time an 8-2 run gave the Miners their largest lead of the game just after the 10-minute media timeout. UIS cut the deficit back to two points with a free throw from Armstrong and then a three-pointer from junior Meredith Marti (Indianapolis, Ind.) later in the game.

The teams went back and forth and the Prairie Stars trailed by only two points, 72-70, after a pair of free throws from freshman Shelbi Patterson (Indianapolis, Ind.) with 1:17 left in the game. S&T took control of the final minute, ending the game with 10 straight points to win, 82-70.

UIS shot 43 percent (23-54) from the floor in the game and outrebounded the Miners 37-31. Senior Courtney Knuckles (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) rounded out the double-digit scoring efforts for the Prairie Stars with 11 points.

The Prairie Stars return to TRAC next weekend to host William Jewell and Rockhurst.