SPRINGFIELD, IL – Lindenwood University pulled away from the University of Illinois (UIS) women's basketball team in the second half to capture a 77-64 win on Saturday.
 
The Lions (4-0) trailed the Prairie Stars (3-1) by a score of 33-32 at halftime but outscored UIS 45-31 in the second half.
 
"Lindenwood brought up the intensity in the second half and ours stayed the same," UIS coach Mark Kost said. "We knew this was going to be a tough one. It hurts to let it get away in the second half because I thought that this was one that if we played well, we could get."
 
Lindenwood outrebounded UIS 29-10 in the second half to finished with a 47-32 rebounding advantage. The Lions also topped the Prairie Stars 18-6 on fast-break points.
 
"Rebounding is one of those where if you miss shots around the basket, you get caught in transition going to the other end, you're helping recover, you lose block-out responsibilities and they crashed the boards."
 
During the second half, Lindenwood hit 18-of-34 (52.9 percent) shots from the floor while UIS made 11-of-30 (36.7 percent) attempts from the field.
 
"Their toughness was great in the second half. Toughness is making layups and shots around the bucket. They made them and we didn't make them in the second half and that was the difference in the game."
 
Throughout the contest, Lindenwood converted 30-of-63 (47.6 percent) shots from the field and 6-of-15 (40 percent) attempts from 3-point range. UIS sank 24-of-64 (37.5 percent) shots from the floor and 2-of-14 (14.3 percent) attempts from the perimeter.
 
"We got good shots; we just didn't stick them in the basket."
 
UIS drained 14-of-21 (66.7 percent) attempts from the free-throw line while the Lions made 11-of-18 (61.1 percent) shots from the charity stripe.
 
The Prairie Stars opened up with a 3-pointer from Shelbi Patterson and a basket from Destiny Ramsey. Lindenwood scored seven consecutive points and Tehya Fortune responded by knocking down a 3-pointer to give UIS an 8-7 lead. The Lions held a 13-10 advantage, but UIS closed the first quarter on a 9-2 run to lead 19-15.
 
Patterson picked up her second foul with 4 minutes, 51 seconds left in the first quarter, but the Prairie Stars were able to recover quickly.
 
"After Shelbi picked up her second foul, we sat her for a bit. We put her back in at about the six-minute mark in the second quarter because she is smart enough to play with two fouls. We played pretty well, even with her in foul trouble."
 
Both teams traded two pairs of baskets to start the second quarter. Lindenwood sparked a 13-2 run to hold a 32-26 advantage. The Prairie Stars rattled off seven consecutive points to enter halftime with a 33-32 lead.
 
"I felt good because were down six with 2:49 left in the half, but we scored the last seven points of the half."
 
Ramsey hit a bucket to begin the third quarter. Jerricah Butler drained a 3-pointer from Lindenwood to even the score at 35-all. UIS made a pair of baskets before the Lions pulled away with a 17-1 run to take a 52-40 lead. Lindenwood maintained a 55-44 advantage through three quarters outscored UIS 22-20 in the fourth quarter.
 
"They took it to us in the third quarter. They were able to take a three-possession lead which they were able to maintain in the fourth quarter."
 
Ramsey paced the Prairie Stars with 16 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Twelve times in UIS Division II history has a player blocked four shots in a game and Ramsey has done it five times. In UIS Division II history, Ramsey moved to seventh in career free throws made (90) and is tied for ninth among single-season leaders in blocks (15).
 
Fortune recorded a season high 15 points. The 5-foot-7 guard from Chicago, IL also collected four steals.
 
"Tehya [Fortune] had been struggling a little bit to score the ball the first couple of games, but she had been doing well defending, rebounding, getting steals and being where she needs to be. [Saturday], she saw the ball go through the basket a bit more, which is what we expect of her. She's just a sophomore. She's only played 30 college games and she's going to get better and better."
 
Patterson and Rosner each contributed 10 points. Rosner also came up with three steals. Jasmine Sangster scored five points while Brianna Mefford and Val Meisner rounded out the scoring effort with four points apiece.
 
Gabby Walker registered 23 points and 11 rebounds for Lindenwood. Kallie Bildner powered to 19 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks. Lindsey Medlen dished out 10 assists.
 
"They're a good basketball team. In my opinion, I think they are a team with the caliber to make the NCAA Tournament and I don't think we're too far away. We just have to get a little tougher and be able to sustain two halves of good basketball."
 
The Prairie Stars venture to Hammond, IN next Saturday for non-conference matchup with Purdue University Northwest (0-2) at 1 p.m. UIS handed Purdue Northwest a 79-73 loss on Nov. 10.
 
"We will take [Sunday] off and have five really good days of practice before we head to Purdue Northwest. That's what we need to correct some errors to get better."