SPRINGFIELD, ILL. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis women's basketball team came up short at GLVC Central Division leader Illinois Springfield on Thursday night in a 69-65 league loss.
 
Senior Sammie Sproul knocked down a three-pointer with 51 seconds to play to knot the game at 65-all, but the Prairie Stars answered with a three-pointer of their own.
 
Sproul finished with 15 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists.
 
Records: UMSL (7-5, 1-4 GLVC), Illinois Springfield (9-4, 3-2 GLVC)
 
How it Happened
Illinois Springfield held a 20-17 lead after the first quarter. The Prairie Stars reeled off 10 unanswered points late in the frame before senior Sproul's three-pointer with two seconds on the clock ended the run.
 
After senior Jordan Fletcher gave UMSL a 26-24 lead at the 4:26 mark in the second quarter, UIS followed with eight straight points to ignite a 10-2 run that closed the half and gave the home team a 34-28 lead at the break.
 
In the third quarter, freshman Alex LaPorta used a traditional three-point play to give the Tritons a 43-41 lead with 2:19 on the clock before the Prairie Stars ended the stanza with an 8-3 spurt for a 49-46 lead.
 
Sproul's third long ball of the game gave UMSL its final lead of the game at 59-57 with 5:35 to play before UIS answered with an 8-1 run over the next three minutes for the 65-60 advantage.
 
Numbers of Note
- Fletcher equaled her season-high with 18 points and added seven rebounds, while junior Arielle Jackson followed with 14 points.
- UMSL shot 43.3 percent, while UIS connected at a 54.2 percent clip.
- The Tritons held a 31-27 rebounding advantage, including an 11-5 edge on the offensive end, and outscored the Prairie Stars, 10-2, in second chance points.
- Henning grabbed a career-high six rebounds, including three offensive.
- UMSL was 7-of-13 at the free-throw line, while UIS was 13-of-21.

Triton Tidbits
Fletcher now has 981 career points… UMSL falls to 9-2 all-time against UIS and had a four-game win streak snapped.
 
Up Next
UMSL returns home on Saturday, hosting McKendree at 1 p.m.