The University of Illinois Springfield women's basketball team will hit the road to face two tough conference opponents. The Prairie Stars travel to Southwest Baptist on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Drury on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
 

UIS (9-8, 7-4) 

UIS lost their lone game of last weekend to Quincy on Saturday afternoon. The Prairie Stars sit fourth in the GLVC with a 7-4 record. 

On Saturday afternoon the Stars welcomed the Hawks to Springfield for their only game of the weekend. An even first quarter was changed when Quincy took a nine-point lead in the second quarter as the Hawks held UIS scoreless for nearly five minutes. QU led the Prairie Stars 30-24 at the intermission. UIS took a lead early in the third quarter with 7 quick points. The Hawks stretched their lead to as many as 13 points with 4:24 left. UIS started a comeback to bring the lead down to 3 points with 1:20 left in the game. Quincy escaped with a 69-66 win. Shariah Gailes led all scorers with 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting. Kayla Rice finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. UIS forced 24 turnovers and had 13 steals. QU had 46 rebounds to 44 by UIS, while the Stars had a 15 to 14 advantage in assists. UIS shot 24-for-76 (31.6%) from the field, 8-for-32 (25.0%) from three, and 10-of-21 (47.6%) from the free-throw line. QU shot 25-for-54 (46.3%) from the field, 5-of-10 (50.0%) from three, and 14-for-24 (58.3%) from the free-throw line. 

The Prairie Stars are 3-3 in road contests this year. UIS is averaging 75.6 points per game on 40.1% shooting. The Stars are holding opponents to 75.8 points per game on 46.7% shooting.
 

Southwest Baptist (8-9, 4-7)

SBU went 0-2 in their two away games last weekend. The Bearcats are currently eleventh in the GLVC with a 4-7 record in conference play.

On Thursday night the Bearcats traveled to Truman State looking to stay in the hunt for the conference tournament. SBU took an early lead, but Truman came roaring back in the second, third, and fourth quarters to secure their first conference win. TSU's hot shooting allowed them to win the game 99-75. Odett Schlegl (12), Claudia Vanzant (12), Karlee Holland (11), Tori Hamilton (10) all finished with double-digit points for the Bearcats. SBU shot 28-for-70 (40.0%) from the field, 10-of-32 (31.3%) from three, and 9-of-13 (69.2%) from the free-throw line. TSU shot 38-for-64 (59.4%) from the field, 16-for-33 (48.5%) from three, and 7-of-10 (70.0%) from the free-throw line. 

Saturday afternoon SBU had another road game, coming against Upper Iowa. Both teams are hovering around the final spots of the conference tournament, so a win here would do both teams a world of good. Upper Iowa took the lead early and never looked back as the Peacocks never surrendered their advantage. The Bearcats pushed hard the entire game, but UIU wouldn't let SBU come close and won the game 72-63. Tori Hamilton led the Bearcats with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Milena Fromming finished with 12 points behind four three-pointers. Kallyn Stumbo had 7 points and 10 rebounds. SBU shot 22-of-61 (36.1%) from the field, 6-for-20 (30.0%) from three, and 13-for-17 (76.5%) from the free-throw line. UIU shot 26-for-63 (41.3%) from the field, 13-for-31 (41.9%) from three, and 7-of-13 (53.8%) from the free-throw line.

The Bearcats are 6-2 at home this year. SBU is averaging 72.7 points per game on 42.5% shooting. They are allowing opponents to score 66.1 points per game on 40.6% shooting. UIS beat SBU 84-76 on November 18 in their other meeting this season. 
 

Drury (13-4, 8-3) 

DU went 2-0 in their two away games last weekend and are currently on a five game winning streak. The Panthers are third in the GLVC with an 8-3 record. 

On Thursday night Drury played Upper Iowa looking to continue their hot streak in conference play. The Panthers scored early and often as they showed why they are one of the top teams in the GLVC. Drury was only up 37-35 at the break, but came out in the second-half with conviction to run away with the game, 88-69. DU got big performances from both Reese Schaaf and Beth Matas Martin. Schaaf scored 26 points and hauled in 12 rebounds, while Matas Martin added 20 points of her own. Anna Hitt finished with 16 points, while Caitlynn Daniels had 10 points. Drury shot 36-for-70 (51.4%) from the field, 7-of-16 (43.8%) from three, and 9-of-12 (75.0%) from the free-throw line. Upper Iowa shot 27-for-68 (39.7%) from the field, 3-of-19 (15.8%)  from three, 12-of-18 (66.7%) from the free-throw line. 

On Saturday afternoon the Panthers took on Truman State, a game which was closer than many would have expected when looking at both teams' records. Drury led 45-41 at the halftime break, but came out in the third quarter on fire. DU built a 17-point lead in the third quarter, but Truman State would not go down quietly as they cut into the Panther lead. Drury only led 81-77 with two minutes left in the game, but a three-pointer from Caitlynn Daniels with 1:21 left secured the road win for DU, 92-82. Beth Matas Martin (28), Caitlynn Daniels (26), and Reese Schaaf (18) were huge for the Panthers in the win. Daniels and Schaaf both brought down 9 rebounds during the game as well. DU shot 34-for-57 (59.6%) from the field, 9-of-17 (52.9%) from three, and 15-of-18 (83.3%) from the free-throw line. TSU shot 29-for-63 (46.0%) from the field, 10-of-28 (35.7%) from three, and 14-of-21 (66.7%) from the free-throw line. 

The Panthers are 7-2 at home this season. DU leads the conference in points per game with 78.9, shooting 48.7%. Their opponents score 66.4 points per game on 38.1% shooting. The Panthers lead the GLVC 12.5 point margin. UIS beat Drury 88-79 in their earlier matchup this year on January 3. 
 

How to Watch

All conference games are streamed on GLVCSN behind a paywall with prices being $75 for the season or $10 per gameLive stats will be available at the links on the UIS WBB schedule.
 

Up Next

The Prairie Stars return home next weekend as they take on William Jewell on Thursday and Rockhurst on Saturday.