The University of Illinois Springfield women's basketball team clinched its best record in 23 years on Thursday night in Liberty, Mo. The Prairie Stars defeated William Jewell by a 72-57 margin.
 
UIS improved to 14-7 with the victory, which sealed a winning record for the team. The Prairie Stars will finish the season with their best mark since going 25-5 in 1998-99. The win also moved the team to 9-6 in conference action, one win away from its most conference victories in a season.
 
UIS won every quarter in the game, as it slowly pulled away for the double-digit win. The Prairie Stars led 38-33 at halftime, and then allowed just 24 points for the final 20 minutes. Their defense held William Jewell to just 30 percent shooting from the field in the second half.
 
The Prairie Stars had a +9 turnover margin in the game, as they forced 18 turnovers and gave the ball up just nine times. That led to the team having a 23-4 advantage in points off turnovers. UIS also had a +6 rebounding margin, and scored 18 more points in the paint and 13 second-chance points.
 
Lauren Ladowski led the scoring with 18 points. Ally Gietzel made seven-of-11 from the field, and finished with 15. Liz Uhl came off the bench to score 11. Jalyn Harris had double-figure rebounds with 10, and Ellie Mitchell had team-highs with six assists and four steals.
 
The Prairie Stars continue their road trip on Saturday with a game at Truman State.