The University of Illinois Springfield women's basketball team had a late rally in its season opener against Quincy on Friday night at TRAC in Springfield, Ill. Malea Jackson capped it off with a game-winning basket in a 76-75 Prairie Stars victory.
 
UIS trailed 69-59 with three minutes remaining in the game. Its defense did not allow another field goal, and the offense took advantage of Quincy being unable to finish the game at the free-throw line.
 
The Prairie Stars started the run by forcing four straight turnovers, and turning those into eight points, with four each from Jackson and Lauren Ladowski.  The Hawks made four straight free throws after that, but each time Jackson responded with a layup. She was also fouled on the second layup, and her made free throw cut the lead to 73-72 with 39 seconds left.
 
Quincy went just two-for-six from the free-throw line on its next three possessions, and UIS trailed 75-74 in the final seconds of the game. The Prairie Stars had an open three-point shot that didn't fall, but Jackson controlled the rebound and scored the game-winning basket with one second remaining.
 
The two teams were tied at halftime at 41, but Quincy took a 10-point lead at 58-48 through 30 minutes of play. UIS couldn't make much of a dent into that lead until its final rally won the contest.
 
Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field, and Quincy had a 9-4 advantage in three-pointers made. UIS had a big advantage on the boards by a 51-40 margin. Nineteen of those 51 rebounds were on the offensive side and led to 14 second-chance points. UIS also outscored Quincy 42-20 in points in the paint.
 
Ladowski finished with a career-high 28 points, and Jackson had a career-best 22 points. The pair combined to go 19-of-41 from the field, and 10-of-13 from the free-throw line. Makenna Fee pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Jalyn Harris had a team-high three assists, and Ladowski had a pair of steals. Harris led UIS with a plus-seven plus/minus.
 
UIS improves to 1-0 on the year, and it has now won its season opener for five straight seasons. The Prairie Stars are in action again next Thursday at Southern Indiana.