The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) women's basketball team took down Tiffin University in a 77-65 decision during Friday's season opener in the Purdue Northwest Cross Conference Classic at Wentzville, Ind.

UIS opened with an victory against an NCAA Division II opponent for the third season in a row.
 
"It's nice to open the season up with a win and get contributions from so many players," UIS coach Mark Kost said. "We had great energy throughout the game and played with poise when they made runs."
 
Tiffin (0-1) opened the game with a 5-1 lead. The Prairie Stars (1-0) tied the game at 7-all with 4 minutes, 3 seconds left in the first quarter and exited the first quarter with a 16-15 lead. UIS poured in 27 points during the second quarter to build a 43-35 advantage at halftime.
 
The Dragons put together a 7-0 run to start the second half, trimming UIS's lead to 43-42 with 7:26 left in the third quarter. UIS responded with an 8-0 run of its own during the next 3:59 and held a 55-43 lead after three quarters. Both teams scored 22 points apiece during the fourth quarter.
 
Freshman Lauren Ladowski dazzled with 18 points in her collegiate debut. The guard from St. John, Ind. collected three steals for the Prairie Stars.
 
Jasmine Sangster compiled a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. The junior guard from Round Lake also tallied five assists and three steals.
 
Val Meissner notched 17 points while Tehya Fortune contributed 13 points. Brianna Mefford and Myka Roth provided four points each while Lanie Hicks and Chasitee Shroyer rounded out the UIS scoring effort with two points apiece.
 
Fortune drained 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) shots from the free-throw line.
 
Aairon Nichols paced the Dragons with 18 points and nine rebounds. Annie Santucci contributed 14 points while Ali Schirmer added 13 points.
 
UIS rolled to a 58-rebound total, the fourth-highest total since becoming a Division II program and the sixth-highest total in school history. The Prairie Stars finished plus-18 on the boards. Tiffin pulled in 40 rebounds.
 
UIS knocked down 25-of-70 (35.7 percent) shots from the field and 8-of-23 (34.8 percent) shots from the perimeter. Tiffin hit 21-of-66 (31.8 percent) attempts from the floor and 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from behind the arc.
 
The Prairie Stars outscored the Dragons 15-6 off turnovers despite finishing minus-2 in turnovers. Tiffin committed 12 turnovers while UIS turned the ball over 14 times.
 
UIS sank 19-of-28 (67.9 percent) shots from the charity stripe while the Dragons made 17-of-26 (65.4 percent) attempts from the free-throw line.
 
The Prairie Stars clash with Purdue University Northwest (0-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m. to close out the tournament.
 
"Now we need to focus on another tough opponent."