University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) women's basketball junior Jasmine Sangster poured in 33 points to lead UIS past McKendree University in an 84-73 victory during Saturday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) home opener in TRAC.
 
Sangster's point total is the highest by a UIS player since Meredith Marti dropped 36 points against Robert Morris University-Peoria on Dec. 10, 2014.
 
Katelyn Rosner tallied her 63rd career block, breaking the previous UIS Division II record of 62, set by 2017 graduate Syerra Cunningham.
 
The Prairie Stars (4-7, 1-2) overwhelmed the Bearcats (8-4, 2-1) with defensive pressure. UIS rolled to a 18-8 advantage on fast-break points. The transition layups helped boost the Prairie Stars to a 54-percent (27-of-50) shooting clip from the field. McKendree hit 30-of-61 (49.2 percent) shots from the floor.
 
"We had a great performance by our entire team," coach Mark Kost said. "We were attacking offensively and defensively."
 
Sangster knocked down 11-of-16 (68.8 percent) shots from the floor, 3-of-5 (60 percent) attempts from 3-point range, and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
 
Ellie Mitchell notched 12 points and also collected four steals. Lauren Ladowski provided 11 points and six assists. Tehya Fortune and Rosner turned in seven points apiece. Brianna Mefford recorded six points and three blocks. Val Meissner also scored six points and Lanie Hicks rounded out the UIS scoring effort with two points. Sangster, Fortune and Mefford pulled down team highs of five rebounds each.
 
Sydney Diekhoff paced the Bearcats with 24 points. Jordan Morton posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Megan Jensen delivered 15 points and Jordan Heberg added 12 points. Morton up with four assists. Callie Pohlman tallied four assists and three steals.
 
The Prairie Stars drained a stellar 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) shots from downtown while the Bearcats hit 2-of-10 (20 percent) attempts from behind the arc.
 
UIS capitalized on 29 free-throw attempts by making 23 (79.3 percent) of them. McKendree sank 11-of-18 (61.1 percent) shots from the charity stripe.
 
UIS committed 22 turnovers while McKendree turned the ball over 21 times. Both teams finished with 29 rebounds apiece.
 
The Prairie Stars came out of the gates and took an 11-2 lead during the first 2 minutes, 29 seconds. Following a timeout, McKendree scored the next nine points, evening the score at 11-all with 4:48 left in the first quarter. The Prairie Stars responded by turning in the next six points to take a 17-11 lead. UIS held an 18-15 advantage after the first quarter.
 
Baskets from Rosner and Sangster gave UIS a 22-15 lead. The game remained a multi-possession game for the remainder of the quarter. Sangster capped off the second quarter by nailing a shot from half court to give a 42-31 lead at halftime.
 
With 3:49 left in the third quarter, the Prairie Stars led 52-42. McKendree sparked a 12-2 during the next 2:56 to cut the lead to 54-53. The momentum changed with 27 seconds remaining when Meissner hit a 3-pointer while getting fouled. She drained the free throw to finish the four-point play and exit the third quarter with a 58-53 lead.
 
During the fourth quarter, Sangster scored UIS's next 10 points to pull ahead to a 68-59 lead. UIS outscored McKendree 26-20 in the fourth quarter.
 
"We have persevered through injury and illness during the early part of the season. Our team has done a terrific job of focusing on improvement and staying positive."
 
The Prairie Stars are scheduled for two home GLVC matchups in TRAC next week. UIS battles the University of Missouri-St. Louis (7-6, 1-3) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. UIS then takes on Maryville University (8-5, 2-2) on Saturday at 1 p.m.