After back-to-back dominant performances at home, the UIS Prairie Stars hit the road this weekend for a pair of GLVC matchups in Missouri. The Stars will travel to Springfield on Thursday to face Drury at 5:45 p.m., then head to Rolla on Saturday to take on Missouri S&T at 1:00 p.m.

Illinois Springfield (7-10, 4-5 GLVC)
UIS returns to the road after a dominant home weekend, earning convincing wins over Rockhurst (86-36) and Southwest Baptist (89-51). Freshman Julia Mingus continues to make her mark, now leading NCAA Division II with a 48.05% three-point percentage, including five made threes in each of last weekend's games.

The Stars' offense was in full force against Rockhurst, opening with a 29-11 first quarter and never looking back. UIS shot over 50% from both the field and beyond the arc, finishing with 14 made threes, while holding Rockhurst to just 12 points or fewer in every quarter. Against Southwest Baptist, UIS again jumped ahead early, posting a 32-5 first quarter. The Stars also controlled the glass and the paint, scoring 48 points in the paint and adding 31 points off the bench.

Junior Kayla Rice leads the team at 16.1 points per game, shooting 38.6% from the field and 40% from three, while adding 3.1 steals and 2.5 assists per game. Mingus has provided a significant scoring spark, averaging 12.4 points per game and surpassing 200 career points last weekend after making her first career starts.

Drury (10-6, 7-2 GLVC)
Drury enters the weekend as one of the GLVC's top contenders, playing with the kind of balance that has kept them near the top of the league standings. The Panthers rely on a strong inside presence, disciplined ball control, and consistent scoring from their top contributors. Sara Mendel and Rhi Gibbons lead the team offensively, averaging 14.2 and 14.1 points per game, respectively. Mendel also pulls down 9.9 rebounds per game while shooting 65.3% from the floor, making her one of the conference's most efficient post scorers. Kaylee King provides a major perimeter threat, hitting 28 threes at a 38% clip.

UIS has only defeated Drury once in program history, with the lone win coming in January 2024 in an 88-79 upset over one of the GLVC's historically strongest programs.

Missouri S&T (7-7, 3-5 GLVC)
The Miners are a physical, inside-first team that excels at attacking the basket and controlling the glass. Missouri S&T consistently looks to score in the paint and create transition opportunities off turnovers, while also staying active on the offensive glass. This season, the Miners have shown the ability to grind through tough stretches and keep games close with strong rebounding and interior scoring.

Norah Gum leads the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game, while also contributing 5.4 rebounds per game, the second-best mark on the team. Gum has made 71 field goals, with roughly half of those coming from deep. Anna Finley is the team's leading three-point threat, averaging 10.6 points per game and making a team-high 56 threes through 14 games.

UIS leads the all-time series 16-4, including a 63-56 win last season.

GLVC Outlook
Drury was picked as the preseason favorite in the GLVC coaches poll, while Missouri S&T was picked fifth and UIS 12th. The current standings, however, show the league shaping up differently: Drury sits at No. 3, Missouri S&T at No. 10, and UIS just one game ahead, battling Upper Iowa for the No. 8 seed with six weeks remaining before the conference tournament.

There's still plenty of time for the standings to shift, and UIS is looking to keep trending upward.

Follow Along
Both games will be streamed by the host schools on the GLVC Sports Network, with live stats available online. Links are posted on the UIS women's basketball schedule page.