SPRINGFIELD, IL – The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) women's basketball team put together a fourth-quarter rally but fell short on the final possession to the University of Indianapolis.
 
Indianapolis (7-14, 4-7) came away with a 56-53 victory over UIS (10-8, 4-6) during Saturday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) matchup.
 
"We battled back, and we had some chances down the stretch," UIS coach Mark Kost said. "We had a lead and some chances to extend it, but then they made a couple of plays, we didn't make some plays and that's how you lose a ball game."
 
Indianapolis's Martha Burse powered to 26 points, 10 rebounds and four steals to lead the Greyhounds in each category. Burse also sank 8-of-9 (88.9 percent) shots from the free-throw line. She entered the game ranked third in steals per game (3.7) and fifth in points per game (22) among NCAA Division II leaders.
 
Claire Carlton also collected nine rebounds for the Greyhounds.
 
Katelyn Rosner pulled in 15 rebounds for the Prairie Stars.
 
Jasmine Sangster led UIS with 14 points. Tehya Fortune turned in 13 points. Shelbi Patterson recorded seven points, four assists and two blocks. Reje Pitchford and Lanie Hicks scored six points. Val Meissner added five points while Rosner rounded out the UIS scoring effort with two points.
 
Both teams struggled to shot during Saturday's contest. Indianapolis converted 20-of-56 (35.7 percent) shots from the field and 3-of-17 (17.6 percent) attempts from 3-point range. UIS made 16-of-59 (27.1 percent) shots from the floor and 9-of-40 (22.5 percent) attempts from the perimeter.
 
The Greyhounds sank 13-of-17 (76.5 percent) shots from the field while the Prairie Stars hit 12-of-16 (75 percent) attempts from the charity stripe.
 
Indianapolis finished -4 on turnovers, but still outscored UIS 12-9 off turnovers and 8-2 on fast-break points. The Greyhounds turned the ball over 16 times while the Prairie Stars committed 12 turnovers.
 
Indianapolis outrebounded UIS by a 43-37 margin.
 
The Prairie Stars topped the Greyhounds 6-4 on second-chance points.
 
Indianapolis put together a 26-10 advantage in points in the paint.
 
The biggest lead from either team in the first quarter was when UIS held a 16-10 advantage. Both teams closed the first quarter knotted at 18-all.
 
During the second quarter, Indianapolis steadily built a lead and entered halftime with a 33-25 advantage.
 
Both teams were evenly matched in the third quarter and the Greyhounds entered the fourth quarter ahead by a 49-39 margin.
 
The Prairie Stars started their comeback by scoring the first eight points of the fourth quarter, holding the Greyhounds scoreless for the opening 4 minutes, 44 seconds of the quarter. After Erin Wood split a pair of free throws, Hicks responded with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 50-all. Burse came right back with a fast-break layup to put Indianapolis ahead 52-50.
 
Sangster made two free throws to tie the game and Patterson split a pair of free throws to give UIS a 53-52 lead with 4:27 to go. After both teams went 2:47 without scoring, Burse came up with a steal and a bucket to put the Greyhounds ahead 54-53 with 1:40 to go. UIS was unable to score on its next three possessions. Burse hit two free throws to force the Prairie Stars to try a 3-pointer on the final possession, but they were unable to convert.
 
At 998 career points, Patterson needs two points to hit the 1,000-point milestone.
 
The Prairie Stars are on the road next week for two conference matchups. They take on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Somers, WI. Then the Prairie Stars face off with Bellarmine University (11-9, 6-5) on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT in Louisville, KY.