Monday games are unusual in the GLVC, but the Prairie Stars opened the home conference season on Monday, Dec. 1 against William Jewell. It did not have the feeling of a Saturday twinbill or Thursday night contests. Yet, it turned out to be something special.
 
In the women's game, junior Kayla Rice had eight first-half steals, sparking UIS to 43-17 edge. She picked up two more steals in the second half to go with a game-high 22 points, leading the Stars to a 75-49 win and picking up the first conference win of the season. 
 
The 10 steals set a UIS single-game record, erasing the mark Rice had set her freshman year when we grabbed nine in a win over Upper Iowa. It was a significant win for the junior from Rock Island as she led the team of nine newcomers and put a mark in the victory column, something UIS was unable to do the previous year until early January. It was a good sign and demonstrated the job Rice was doing as the team leader among a squad with so many new faces in head coach Olivia Lett Birt's second season. 
 
Kayla's brother, Jordan, who returned to UIS for his fifth season after missing last year's campaign after preseason shoulder surgery, was in his usual spot: the corner of the arena during that first half of the women's game, watching his sister pick the pocket of the Cardinals and enjoying the first-half lead before he was the last Prairie Star to move to the locker room to get his team ready for the second game. During the changeover between games, he likely found out that his sister set the UIS steals mark and scored a game-high 22 points. 
 
The men's game started rather pedestrian for Jordan, who missed a three-pointer, a layup and a free throw before he scored. He bounced back to tally 14 points in the first half, pulling UIS back into the game, down just four at intermission, 28-24. However, in the second half, the Cardinals came out hot, outscoring the Stars, 10-4 to start the half to earn a double-figure lead, which they pushed to as much as 15. 
 
Jordan became the main UIS scoring threat, scoring 12 consecutive UIS points, then after a Tye Banks three-pointer, he scored the next 10 of the Stars' points. Yes, he scored 22 of UIS's 24 points in that run. Even with that, when he finished that second run with a three-pointer, it just cut the Cardinal lead to seven with two minutes to play. The UIS defense took over, limiting William Jewell to just two points the rest of the way. Jordan scored on a drive to the bucket to cut it to one, 58-57, with 40 seconds to play. After a Cardinal score and two Isaiah Davis free throws, fittingly it was Jordan who gave UIS its first lead of the game when he hit a jumper with nine second to play for a 61-60 lead, which was the final score when William Jewell missed a last-second three-pointer. 
 
Jordan equaled his sister. He also put his name in the UIS single-game record book by scoring 40 points, matching the most in UIS history, tying the mark that Eddie Smith set when he scored 40 in the first round of the 2007 NAIA national tournament in a win over Lambeth. It stands as the highest scoring effort since the Stars made the move to NCAA DII in 2009. He did most of his damage driving to the hoop, hitting 14 of 31 field goal attempts, including three of 12 for bonus range. He capitalized on his 12 trips to the line by hitting nine charity tosses. And he just missed a double-double, finishing with a game-high nine rebounds. Not bad for a 5'9" guard. 
 
On the same night, with their parents deciding to stay in Rock Island and watch the streams on the GLVC Sports Network because of the unusual Monday game night, the Rice family accounted for 62 points in the two wins with Kayla etching her name in the record book with the single-game steals mark and Jordan putting his name on the top of the list of single-game scorers. It was truly a Rice celebration. Both in Springfield and in Rock Island. 
 
Each player will certainly go down in UIS lore as one of the best to wear the navy and gold. Jordan worked his way into the starting lineup as a freshman for head coach Matt Brock, starting in 21 of the 28 games that season. His scoring average has improved each year, from 5.9 to 9.7 to 14.0 to 17.1 so far this season. He's now started 97 of 104 games in his career.
 
Jordan surpassed the coveted 1,000-point mark earlier this season and is sixth on the all-time list with 1,155 points. In early January, he took over as the program's all-time leader in assists,  becoming the first Prairie Star to hit the 400 assist mark. He's in the top 10 on the all-time list in four other categories, including steals (4th), three-point field goals (6th), field goals (6th) and free throws (8th).
 
Even though sister Kayla has a full year plus the remainder of this season to go, she's already in the all-time top 10 in five categories and is just one spot out in two others. And she's about to set a career record in steals where she is just two behind the record holder. 
 
Like her brother, and often under his watchful eye from the corner of the arena, she moved into the starting lineup as a freshman, starting 14 of 29 games. She averaged 8.8 that campaign, improved to 15.8 last year and stands at 15.7 year to date, good for third in the GLVC. She is eighth on the all-time scoring list and 20 points shy of the 1,000 mark. In additional to steals and points, she is also in the top 10 in three-pointers (2nd), points per game (5th), and free throws (9th) and about to move from the 11th spot in field goals and assists. 
 
The two have made their mark with GLVC honors, as well. Kayla was on the 2023-24 GLVC All-Freshman Team and was Second Team All-GLVC last year. Jordan was on the 2021-22 GLVC All-Freshman Team and was a First-Team All-GLVC choice after the 2023-24 season before missing last year. 
 
More than the scoring totals and records, both players have become team leaders. Kayla is one of four returnees for a team with nine newcomers, including seven freshmen. Due to the surgery, Jordan missed playing his final season with the five players that graduated after last season. He's now leading a team that has seven players back, but nearly every player is playing a new role, working along side six newcomers. 
 
Both are also strong students. Jordan, who graduated in May with his business degree is working on an MBA. Kayla is a biology major with plans to pursue medical school. 
 
The play on the court between the two Rice siblings is not a rivalry, as each one is the other's biggest supporter. Rather, it's mutual respect between two players, both leaving their mark on the UIS basketball programs. And often the duo is in the stands together after the game, celebrating with family and friends. 
 
Only four home games remain for the two and the rest of the Prairie Stars as they look to make the 2025-26 basketball season one to remember at UIS. Let's see what these two do next. Go Stars!