RENSSELAER, IND --- The Prairie Stars (6-10, 1-8) jumped out to an early lead with an explosive 24 point opening quarter, but were unable to hold on to that lead as Saint Joseph's (14-6, 6-3) came from behind for a 65-49 win.
Ashley McHenry and
Shelbi Patterson had 11 and 10 points, respectively but 27 turnovers led to the tough loss for UIS.
UIS could not do much wrong in the opening quarter as they jumped out to an early lead on a jumper from McHenry in their first possession. Down 7-6, the Prairie Stars exploded in the final 5:26 of the quarter, ending on an 18-3 run to close out the first ten minutes of play.
The Prairie Stars had six different players score in the quarter, led by Patterson who had six points in the opening quarter. UIS went 6-for-9 from the field during their run to close the quarter and built a 24-9 lead by the first break.
Sans a three-pointer from
Meredith Marti and a three-point play from McHenry, the Prairie Star offense couldn't get much going in the second quarter. Saint Joseph's opened the quarter with an 8-0 run before the Marti three and then rattled off 10 straight to tie the game at 27 before McHenry regained the lead. UIS would end the half with a 30-29 lead, scoring just six points in the quarter.
Syerra Cunningham began the second half with a jumper to push the UIS lead to three, but Saint Joseph's responded with a 7-0 run to take their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. UIS scored just nine points in the third quarter and trailed by two heading into the final quarter.
The Puma's hit five of their first seven shots to open the final quarter and increased their lead to as much as 16 as the game came to a close.
UIS opened with a 24 point first quarter and then scored just 25 points the remainder of the game. The two teams each grabbed 36 rebounds on the night but it was UIS who had the advantage in offensive rebounds, which led to nine second chance points for the visitors. However, 27 UIS turnovers led to 28 points for the Puma's, which made the difference in the game.
The Prairie Stars will return home next week to take on Lewis and Wisconsin – Parkside on Thursday and Saturday before hitting the road for three straight games the following week.
