The University of Illinois Springfield women's basketball team extended its winning streak to four games on Monday night in Kansas City, Mo. with an 82-68 win over Rockhurst. The winning streak ties for the second-longest for the program since 1999.
 
The second quarter was a record-breaking one for the program, and also proved crucial in the team's victory. UIS outscored the Hawks by a 21-15 margin in the period, and it took a double-figure lead. Fourteen of those points came from Lauren Ladowski who became the school's all-time scoring leader late in the period.
 
Rockhurst cut that lead to seven after it went on a 9-3 run to end the third quarter. At the start of the fourth, the Prairie Stars held the Hawks with a point for the first 2:30 minutes. That enabled the offense to go on an 8-0 run that helped UIS take control of the game for good.
 
UIS won the game at the free-throw line, where it set another record on the night. The Prairie Stars made 35 free throws, two more than their previous high for a game. UIS had 43 attempts from the line, and it shot 81.4 percent. Rockhurst, meanwhile, made just 12-of-23 from the free-throw line.
 
Ladowski finished with 24 points, including making 12-of-16 from the free-throw line. Malea Jackson had 19 points, with a pair of three-pointers included in her totals. Ellie Mitchell was the third player in double-figures with 15, and Ally Gietzel just missed with nine. That pair were a combined 11-of-11 from the charity stripe. Olivia Travis led the team with nine rebounds. Ladowski and Jackson both had two assists, and Ladowski had four steals on the night.
 
UIS improves to 12-6 on the season and 7-5 in GLVC play. The Prairie Stars return home on Thursday night to take on Quincy at 5:30 p.m.