SPRINGFIELD, IL --- The Prairie Stars look to get back on the winning track this week as they play host to Rockhurst College on Thursday before ending the week against William Jewell on Saturday. UIS is coming off one of the toughest parts of their conference schedule, playing the top-two teams from the west division, Quincy and Truman State.

SETTING THE SCENE
Overall Records (GLVC):

• UIS // 5-7 (0-5) // 8^th in East
• Rockhurst // 8-4 (1-3) // 5^th in West
• William Jewell // 6-9 (1-3) // 7^th in West

The Prairie Stars look for their first win in the GLVC as they come back home for the first time since December 19^th. UIS traveled to #19 Quincy and Truman State last week, falling late in the second half in both games.

KEY STATS AND RANKINGS (GLVC)

Scoring Offense:

• Rockhurst - 66.4 (9^th)
• William Jewell - 66.2 (10^th)
• UIS - 61.8 (14^th)

Scoring Defense:

• Rockhust - 60.7 (6^th)
• UIS - 65.8 (13^th)
• William Jewell - 67.2 (15^th)

3-Point FG %:

• William Jewell - 33.4 (6^th)
• UIS - 32.3 (7^th)
• Rockhurst - 31.0 (10^th)

3-Point FG Defense:

• UIS - 25.5 (2^nd)
• Rockhurst - 31.5 (11^th)
• William Jewell - 31.9 (14^th)

PATTERSON LEADS THE WAY
Sophomore guard Shelbi Patterson has been leading the way this season on offense, as she leads the team in points, assists, minutes, and steals. She is tied for second on the team with 11 made three's and second in blocks as well, with eight.

DIALING FROM LONG DISTANCE
Meredith Marti continues to be the biggest three point threat for the Prairie Stars, having made 31 three's on the season. That's 20 more than any other player on the team. She also shoots nearly 40 percent from behind the arc, also best on the team.

BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
Five players currently average more than four rebounds per game, with Syerra Cunningham leading the way with 8.3 rebounds per game (5^th in GLVC). She is one of six players to total at least 100 rebounds this season.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

Rockhurst:
The Hawks are 8-4 on the season and are coming off back-to-back conference losses to Southern Indiana and Bellarmine before beating Central Christian College on Monday in non-conference action. Playing a home-heavy schedule, the Hawks are only 1-2 away from home this season with a 7-2 mark on their home court. They did however beat Truman State on the road 56-55 before traveling to #19 Quincy and falling by just one, 67-66.

• Leading Scorer: Mary Dineen (17.8)
• Leading Rebounder: Jillian Myers (5.2)
• Leading Assists: Jillian Myers (4.4)

William Jewell:
The Cardinals are 6-9 on the season and are coming of a 68-65 win at Southern Indiana, handing them just their second loss of the season. William Jewell has yet to win a game on an away court, going 3-3 at home and 3-3 in neutral competitions.

• Leading Scorer: Maddie Nelson (10.7)
• Leading Rebounder: Maddie Nelson (7.5)
• Leading Assists: Maddie Nelson (4.8)

SERIES HISTORY
UIS is 5-3 all-time against Rockhurst, winning four in a row from 2011-2013. The two teams have split the last four contests, each winning on the others home court.

UIS is 1-5 all-time against William Jewell, last winning in 2014 on the road. Last year, William Jewell came away with a 92-91 victory in Springfield.

COMING UP NEXT
The Prairie Stars will travel to the University of Indianapolis next Thursday before finishing off a two-game road trip by traveling to St. Joseph's on Saturday.

STARS CLUB UPDATE
A hospitality room will be open to Stars Club members in between games on both Thursday and Saturday. On Thursday, the hospitality room will be provided by Noodles and Co. and on Saturday will be sponsored by Qdoba. Thank you for all your support.