KIRKSVILLE, MO – Truman State University overwhelmed the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) women's basketball team with a 73-49 victory during Saturday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) matchup.
 
The Bulldogs (15-10, 10-8) led the Prairie Stars (13-13, 7-11) 16-11 through one quarter and 27-22 at halftime.
 
"We had a good start to the game," UIS coach Mark Kost said. "Then we had to battle with five players in foul trouble throughout the second quarter. I thought we did a great job of managing the situation until halftime."
 
Truman State powered past UIS 25-6 in the third quarter to extend its lead to 52-28. The Bulldogs and the Prairie Stars both scored 21 points in the fourth quarter.
 
"We had a drought in the third quarter. We were aggressive and got to the free-throw line but could not capitalize."
 
Destiny Ramsey led the Prairie Stars with 10 points and seven rebounds. Tehya Fortune tallied nine points. Ariana Smith provided eight points. Shelbi Patterson contributed six points and four assists while Chasitee Shroyer added six points. Jasmine Sangster turned in five points, and Grace Weber rounded out the UIS scoring effort with three points.
 
Katie Jaseckas recorded 26 points and 13 rebounds to pace Truman State. Rachel Edmundson notched 10 points and Brooke Bailey dished out five assists.
 
Truman State knocked down 26-of-60 (43.3 percent) shots from the floor and 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) attempts from 3-point range. UIS made 16-of-57 (28.1 percent) attempts from the floor and 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) shots from behind the arc.
 
The Bulldogs hit 14-of-20 (70 percent) shots from the free-throw line while the Prairie Stars sank 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) attempts from the charity stripe.
 
Truman State outrebounded UIS by a 44-35 margin. Twelve offensive rebounds allowed Truman State to finish with a 15-3 advantage in second-chance points.
 
Both teams committed 13 turnovers apiece.
 
UIS is graduating seniors Ramsey, Patterson and Reje Pitchford. The three seniors paved the way in setting program records for wins (13), conference wins (7) and GLVC finish (10th). UIS is expected to return 13-of-16 players for the 2018-19 season and look to build upon its success.
 
"I'm very proud of our three seniors. Shelbi, Destiny and Reje were instrumental to taking our program to a new level. Their leadership and effort helped set a new record in wins and have prepared us for more success in the future."