SPRINGFIELD, IL --- The Prairie Stars will open their conference season with a game against #5 Bellarmine University before welcoming in Southern Indiana on Saturday. UIS comes into the conference weekend with a 3-1 mark overall, winning their last two games at home over Robert Morris – Springfield and Missouri Southern.

SETTING THE SCENE
The Prairie Stars (3-1) have begun the second season under Mark Kost in thrilling fashion, winning three of their first four games for the second straight season. UIS opened with an 11-point victory over Lake Superior State before falling to Hillsdale College --- who beat UIS by 18 last year --- by a score of 72-70.

#5 Bellarmine comes to Springfield with a perfect 6-0 record and having just moved up three spots in the latest national poll. Despite being 6-0, Bellarmine has won twice by just one point in overtime as well as picking up a three-point win over Wayne State.

Southern Indiana enters the weekend with a 5-1 record, winning their first five games of the season before dropping their last game to Michigan Tech. The Screaming Eagles have eclipsed the 100-point mark on two occasions so far this season.

AMONG THE NATIONS BEST
After a record breaking second half of the season last year, Syerra Cunningham has picked up right where she left off. The senior forward currently leads the GLVC in rebounding by a large margin, averaging 13.8 boards per game, four more than the next player. With that, her 13.8 rebounds per game rank her 9^th in the nation.

She is the lone player in the GLVC to average a double-double, putting up 11.4 points with her 13.8 rebounds.

MARGIN OF VICTORY
UIS ranks 7^th in scoring offense per game (73.2) and 11^th in scoring defense per game (60.0) but the +13.2 scoring margin is enough to rank them fifth in the GLVC. They are one of only six teams to boast a scoring margin of over 10 points.

BRINGING DOWN THE BOARDS
With Cunningham leading the conference in individual rebounds, the team as a whole ranks first, averaging 46.4 rebounds per game. This number slightly edges Southern Indiana, who is second with 46.3 rebounds per game. Bellarmine is also in the top-four in the league with 43.0 rebounds a contest.

NO EASY BASKETS
The Prairie Stars rank 1^st in the GLVC in opponent field goal percentage, holding teams to a meager 26.2 mark. No opponent has shot better than 37.5 percent in a game this season and three times UIS has held opponents to less than a  26.2 percent clip.

SCOUTING BELLARMINE
Sarah Galvin leads the way on offense for the Knights, averaging 17.2 points per game, good for 5^th in the league. Raven Merriweather ranks 9^th in the GLVC with 14.2 points per game.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN INDIANA
The Screaming Eagles currently rank 3^rd in the GLVC in field goal percentage, sinking 45.7 percent of their shots. They hold the highest scoring offense and defense in the league, resulting in a +31.3 scoring margin through six games, putting them sixth in the nation in that category.

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