University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) women's basketball senior Val Meissner provided 18 points during Thursday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) matchup against Missouri S&T. The Colgate, Wis. native missed her career high by one points.
 
Missouri S&T (6-6, 2-3) fought to an 83-77 victory. The Miners capitalized down low, outscoring the Prairie Stars (5-9, 2-4) 50-20 in the paint. Missouri S&T converted 29-of-55 (52.7 percent) shots from the field while UIS hit 27-of-65 (41.5 percent) attempts from the floor. The Miners also finished plus-12 on the boards, outrebounding UIS 39-27.
 
UIS finished with five double-digit scorers, including Meissner. Lauren Ladowski notched 16 points while Ellie Mitchell and Jasmine Sangster contributed 14 points apiece. Tehya Fortune produced 10 points while Lanie Hicks rounded out the UIS scoring effort with five points.
 
Meissner tallied seven rebounds and four assists, leading the team in both categories. Mitchell came up with a team-high three steals.
 
Alex Kerr led Missouri S&T in scoring with 24 points, in addition to pulling down nine rebounds. Mykayla Baylor recorded a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. She also provided five assists and two blocks. Jordan Kabetske turned in 17 points and five assists. Michaela Davis scored 16 points and Marta Durk dished out five assists.
 
Missouri S&T held a 12-2 advantage in second-chance points.
 
Despite finishing minus-three in turnovers, the Miners outscored the Prairie Stars 19-14 off turnovers. Missouri S&T turned the ball over 19 times while UIS committed 16 turnovers.
 
The Miners saw 30 free-throw attempts and made 23 (76.7 percent) of them. UIS knocked 11-of-15 (73.3 percent) shots from the charity stripe.
 
UIS knocked down 12-of-32 (37.5 percent) attempts from 3-point range while Missouri S&T hit 2-of-10 (20 percent) shots from the perimeter.

The Prairie Stars opened up with an 8-2 lead. After Missouri S&T cut its deficit to one, UIS charged to a 23-12 lead. The Miners scored the final four points of the quarter as UIS led 23-16 after the first quarter.
 
During the second quarter, Missouri S&T trimmed UIS's advantage to 25-22. Sangster drained a 3-pointer to put the Prairie Stars ahead by six. UIS entered halftime with a 31-24 lead.
 
The Miners chipped away at their deficit in the third quarter and took a 36-34 lead. UIS evened the game at 36-all, but Missouri S&T rattled off another run. The Miners built a 50-41 lead, closing out a 28-10 run that started late in the second quarter. Missouri S&T held a 52-46 advantage in the third quarter. Both teams notched 31 points apiece in the fourth quarter.
 
The Prairie Stars challenge Drury University (16-0, 6-0), ranked No. 2 in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) NCAA Division II poll in GLVC action on Saturday at 1 p.m. in TRAC.