The University of Illinois Springfield women's basketball team will continue their conference schedule with two home games this week. The Prairie Stars welcome conference newcomer Upper Iowa to TRAC on Thursday night at 5:30 p.m., and Truman State on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
UIS (7-7, 5-3)
UIS capped a historic weekend by going 2-0 in their games. Currently, the Prairie Stars sit in a tie for third place with a 5-3 conference record.
On Wednesday night, UIS faced Drury, a team that the Stars have never gotten the better of in school history. That all changed as UIS mounted a dramatic comeback in the fourth quarter to emerge victorious after being down by as many as 14 points. Jessenia Lawson and Liz Uhl both finished with a season-high in points, 28 and 26, to lead the Prairie Stars to this monumental victory, 88-79. Shariah Gailes had 11 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Lawson also led the team with 14 rebounds. UIS shot 29-for-68 (42.6%) from the field, including 5-for-22 (22.7%) from three. Drury shot 30-for-66 (45.5%) from the field, including 5-for-18 (27.8%) from three.
On Saturday the Stars traveled to Liberty, Missouri to face off against the William Jewell Cardinals. The game was extremely physical between the two sides, as there were 62 fouls called and 82 free-throws attempted. Jewell held a two-point lead going into the final quarter, but UIS took the lead for good by increasing the pressure and knocking down clutch free-throws. Liz Uhl iced the game at the line by going 5-for-6 in the final 15 seconds of action to win the game 84-80. Shariah Gailes had a season and game high 27 points, and went a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line. Liz Uhl finished with 17 points, going 9-for-10 from the free-throw line. Freshman Kayla Rice had 13 points, with a 9-of-11 mark from the free-throw line. Jessenia Lawson had 10 points and pulled down 7 rebounds also. Gailes also led the team with 12 rebounds, with 8 of the 12 being offensive. The Prairie Stars were able to force the Cardinals into 20 turnovers, scoring 32 points off of those turnovers. UIS shot 21-of-54 (38.9%) from the field, 4-of-14 (28.6%) from three, and 38-for-43 (88.4%) from the charity stripe. William Jewell shot 24-of-48 (50.0%) from the field, 5-of-15 (33.3%) from three, and 27-for-39 (69.2%) from the free-throw line.
Upper Iowa (6-4, 3-3)
The Peacocks also caused a big upset during their Wednesday game, handing McKendree their first conference loss of the season. They weren't able to cause another upset on Saturday as they were beaten by Lewis. UIU currently sits in 8th place in the GLVC standings.
Wednesday night, the Peacocks made the long journey down to face an undefeated Bearcat team who hadn't lost since 11/17. The game featured nine lead changes for an entertaining first conference meeting between the two. UIU had an efficient night of shooting from the floor, but the stingy Bearcat squad hung around and only found themselves down by four points heading into the fourth quarter. Upper Iowa scored 27 points in the final frame to give themselves some breathing room and win the contest 84-75. Upper Iowa had two players finish with a double-double, Katie Tornstrom and Brooke Evenson. Tornstrom finished with 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field to go along with 11 rebounds. Evenson had 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the field, while pulling down 13 boards. Mia Huberty also finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. UIU shot 31-for-72 (43.1%) from the field, 10-of-27 (37.0%) from three, and a season-best 12-for-13 (92.3%) from the free-throw line. McKendree shot 24-of-67 (35.8%) from the field, 7-for-17 (41.2%) from three, and 20-of-24 (83.3%) from the free-throw line.
Saturday saw the Peacocks face the other undefeated squad in GLVC play, the Lewis Flyers. The game on Saturday was much more of a defensive battle between the two, as UIU led at halftime 32-27. The third quarter saw Lewis catch fire and score 27 points alone in the frame to take a nine-point lead heading into the final quarter. The Peacocks wouldn't go down without a fight though and made Lewis work hard to stay in front. Upper Iowa was able to trim the Flyer lead to two points with less than a minute to play, but Lewis was able to hold off the Peacock charge and win 68-65 in Iowa. Mia Huberty was the game's leading scorer with 27 points on 11-for-15 shooting from the field. Brooke Evenson also finished in double figures with 14 points. UIU shot 28-of-58 (48.3%) from the field, 5-for-20 (25.0%) from three, and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Lewis shot 24-for-56 (42.9%) from the field, 5-of-17 (29.4%) from three, and 15-for-21 (71.4%) from the free-throw line.
Katie Tornstrom : 16.3 pts / 6.6 reb / 2.4 ast / 1.7 stl
Mia Huberty : 15.8 pts / 3.1 reb / 3.4 ast
Brooke Evenson : 12.9 pts / 7.6 reb / 1.6 stl
Truman State (3-9, 0-6)
Truman State is still looking for their first conference win of the year after falling twice in last weekend's matchups. The Bulldogs are tied for last in the GLVC standings.
Wednesday night saw TSU host Indianapolis in what turned out to be a challenge for the Bulldogs on the night. UIndy dominated the first three quarters of the game to run away with an 80-54 win in Kirksville. The Greyhounds took the lead with 8:15 left in the first quarter and never trailed again. Molly Joyce led the Bulldogs in scoring off the bench with 14 points. Ellie Weltha also had 11 points on the night. TSU shot 19-for-68 (27.9%) from the field, 5-of-23 (21.7%) from three, and 11-for-16 (68.8%) from the free-throw line. UIndy shot 30-for-66 (45.5%) from the field, 12-of-26 (46.2%) from three, and 8-of-10 (80.0%) from the charity stripe. The Greyhounds outrebounded the Bulldogs 44-30.
On Saturday the Bulldogs looked to bounce back against UMSL on the road. The Bulldogs took a 32-30 lead into halftime in what was a defensive battle between the two. The third quarter was another low scoring affair as Truman led 44-41 heading into the final frame. The teams would go back-and-forth until UMSL took the lead with 4:09 to go in the game. With 50 seconds left in the game TSU tied it at 57 on a pair of free throws. UMSL took a three point lead, and as the clock wound down Claire Rake attempted a game-tying three pointer but was fouled by a Triton. Rake went 1-of-3 from the line to make it a two point game. UMSL then went 1-of-2 from the line to increase their lead to three again. TSU made a layup as time expired, so UMSL won the contest 61-60. Four Bulldogs finished with double-digit points; Ainsley Tolson (13), Claire Rake (12), Ellie Weltha (11), and Maddie Niemeier (10). Weltha also finished with a game-high 13 rebounds. TSU shot 18-for-44 (40.9%) from the field, 4-of-20 (20.0%) from three, and 20-for-26 (76.9%) from the free-throw line. UMSL shot 22-of-52 (42.3%) from the field, 5-for-14 (35.7%)from three, and 12-of-19 (63.2%) from the free-throw line.
Ellie Weltha : 17.6 pts / 7.8 reb
Claire Rake : 10.0 pts
Ainsley Tolson : 9.9 pts / 3.3 ast
How to Watch
Every conference game this year will be streamed on GLVCSN behind a paywall. The prices are $75 for the whole season and you will be able to watch any women's basketball game on the website. Or, you can pay $10 per game to watch. You are able to follow the live stats of each game through the UIS WBB schedule.
Up Next
UIS has a lone conference game next Saturday against in-state rival Quincy, at 1:00 p.m.
