ST. LOUIS, MO – The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) women's basketball team fell short in its comeback effort as Maryville University earned a 65-59 victory during Saturday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) matchup.
 
Maryville (5-10, 2-7) finished with a 16-7 advantage in points off turnover as UIS (10-6, 4-4) committed 21 turnovers. The Saints turned the ball over 12 times.
 
Val Meissner recorded a career-high of 14 points while Shelbi Patterson provided 14 points and three steals. Tehya Fortune tallied 13 points and five assists. Katelyn Rosner turned in eight points and eight rebounds. Jasmine Sangster and Brianna Mefford scored four points each while Gabrielle Sanders rounded out the UIS scoring effort with two points.
 
Mary Barton produced 15 points and six assists for Maryville. Ali Ringering notched 15 points and four steals. Adrienne Horn added 11 points, Stephanie Sherwood collected four steals and Kayla Steward dished out four assists.
 
The Prairie Stars converted 21-of-49 (42.9 percent) shots from the field and 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) attempts from 3-point range. Maryville hit 22-of-52 (42.3 percent) attempts from the floor and 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) shots from the perimeter.
 
The Saints knocked down 13-of-16 (81.3 percent) shots from the free-throw line while the Prairie Stars made 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) attempts from the charity stripe.
 
The biggest lead by either team in the first quarter was when UIS held a 15-10 advantage. UIS closed the first quarter with a 15-12 lead.
 
Maryville took a 19-15 lead in the second quarter to cap off a 9-0 run.  The Saints led by as many as six in the second quarter. UIS entered halftime with a 28-27 advantage as Rosner delivered in a bucket-and-one situation with one second left in the quarter.
 
The Saints pulled ahead, outscoring the Prairie Stars 19-7 in the third quarter. During the quarter, Maryville went on a 12-0 run. The Saints closed the third quarter with a 46-35 lead.
 
Maryville lead UIS 51-40 with 8 minutes, 8 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Prairie Stars sparked a 9-0 run to put themselves back into the game. The Saints scored the next six points and held a 59-52 lead with 2:26 remaining.
 
Meisnner hit a basket to cut the deficit to five. Sangster came up with a steal and took it back for a layup to trim the lead to three with 1:01 remaining.
 
The Saints turned the ball over on the following possession, giving UIS an opportunity to tie the game. UIS ended up turning the ball over as well, creating the need to foul before time expired. Ringering drained a pair of free throws. On the following possession, Rosner knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a 61-59 game, however there was too little time for a comeback. Ringering made two free throws and Barton hit two free throws as well.
 
The Prairie Stars are scheduled for two GLVC matchups next week. UIS meets Drury University (16-2, 7-1) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in TRAC. Drury is ranked No. 6 in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) NCAA Division II poll. The Prairie Stars then encounter the University of Indianapolis (6-13, 3-6) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in TRAC.