SPRINGFIELD, IL – The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) women's basketball team fended off Quincy University in a 73-64 victory during Thursday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) matchup.
 
After dropping a career-high 26 points against William Jewell College (11-11, 8-7) last Saturday, Jasmine Sangster followed up with a career-high 29 points to pave the way for the Prairie Stars (12-11, 6-9). The 5-foot-6 sophomore guard from Round Lake, IL converted 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) shots from the field and 9-of-10 (90 percent) attempts from the free-throw line.
 
"Jasmine had a heck of a game for us," UIS coach Mark Kost said. "She kept us afloat in the first half because we were not very good offensively or defensively and she just took the ball to the bucket and made things happen. One way or the other, Jasmine is going to make something happen when she has the ball. Sometimes it's great. Sometimes it's not. It's an aggressive play that she continues to make."
 
Shelbi Patterson recorded 12 points and five assists. Destiny Ramsey contributed 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
Lanie Hicks turned in seven points.
 
"Lanie did a really good job. She had some really big rebounds, hit a three for us, hit two free throws down the stretch which really stretched the lead out and gave us a chance to win the game."
 
Tehya Fortune scored seven points, Katelyn Rosner added six points and Grace Weber rounded out the UIS scoring effort with two points.
 
Rosner blocked three shots. At 61 career blocks, the 6-foot-2 sophomore center from Chicago, IL needs one block to tie the UIS Division II career blocks record.
 
Anika Webster paced the Hawks with 22 points. She also provided four assists. Aleksandra Petrovic produced 10 points. Julia Ruzevich tallied 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
 
UIS hit 26-of-58 (44.8 percent) shots from the floor and 2-of-11 (18.2 percent) attempts from 3-point range. Quincy made 24-of-69 (34.8 percent) attempts from the floor and 8-of-27 (29.6 percent) shots from the perimeter.
 
The Prairie Stars knocked down 19-of-26 (73.1 percent) shots from the free-throw line while the Hawks sank 8-of-12 (66.7 percent) attempts from the charity stripe.
 
Quincy held a 42-40 edge over UIS on the boards. Both teams finished with 15 turnovers apiece.
 
The Hawks came out of the gates to take an 11-2 lead with 6 minutes, 28 seconds left in the first quarter. UIS steadily trimmed the deficit to 17-12 after the first quarter.
 
Ruzevich and Taylor Hickey provided buckets for Quincy to start the second quarter and give the Hawks a nine-point advantage. The Prairie Stars then sparked a 20-7 swing to take a 32-28 lead. UIS took a 33-30 lead into halftime.
 
The Prairie Stars increased their advantage to 49-39 after three quarters.
 
Quincy took control of the start of the fourth quarter after compiling a 14-2 run to take a 53-51 lead.
 
"We self-destructed. We were making silly turnovers in the backcourt. They were just lackadaisical plays that gave them the chance to take the lead. We gave them life by not doing simple things like making layups, being strong with the ball and things that we work on. It's almost like we got a double-digit lead and thought the game was over. It wasn't over. There was still a lot of game to play."
 
Quincy held a 60-59 lead with 2:36 to go. UIS took a 61-60 lead after Fortune contributed a transition layup. Sangster put UIS ahead by three with a drive to the bucket and Fortune took a steal back for a layup to put the game out of reach.
 
Trailing 65-60 with 1:10 remaining, Quincy needed to foul. The Prairie Stars knocked down eight free throws in the final minute.
 
"We recovered, got the win and we'll try to pick off a few more wins as the season ends here. It feels good. We won and we can play better."
 
UIS is currently ninth in the GLVC Point Rating System with a 2.70 rating. Rockhurst University (10-13, 6-9) currently holds the eighth spot with a 2.80 rating. The Prairie Stars battle the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) (17-5, 11-4) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in St. Louis, MO.