Box Score
SPRINGFIELD, IL ---  The Prairie Stars (5-8, 0-6) suffered a slow start in their first conference home game of the season and were never able to come back against Rockhurst University, falling 72-46. The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) scored just 15 points in the first half, finding themselves down 23 at the break before finding their stride in the third quarter. With the loss, UIS falls to 5-8 on the season and dropped their sixth conference game.

Rockhurst began the game on a 7-1 run before Ashley McHenry finished a layup on a pass from Meredith Marti before Michaela Jones notched her first points of the night to make the score 10-5. The Hawks closed the quarter out on an 11-2 run though, ending with a three pointer at the buzzer.

Unfortunately, the second quarter was much of the same, as the Prairie Stars struggled to find their stroke from the field. An eight point second quarter finished off a half in which UIS shot just 18 percent from the field, missing each of their nine three-point attempts and hitting just 3-of-11 from the free throw line.

This left the Prairie Stars down 38-15 at the break, a deficit they couldn't recover from.

However, in the third quarter, UIS showed some life with a 21-point outburst, taking back a point from the Hawks. The second half was a much better indication of how well the team can perform, as they totaled 31 points in the half behind 13 second half points from McHenry and 11 from Syerra Cunningham.

The biggest tale of the night came from the three-point line, as the Prairie Stars made just 1-of-16 while the Hawks hit 7-of-20 from deep.

Cunningham ended the night with a team high 16 points while McHenry followed closely with 15. Chelsea Crossed turned away two shots on the night and Morgan Knorr dished out three assists.

The Prairie Stars will look to bounce back in their second of two home games this week, as they take on William Jewell on Saturday at 1 pm.