Box Score

UIS boxscore in PDF

Fueled by 10 3-pointers, the Maryville women’s basketball team defeated Illinois Springfield 66-50 and moved into a first-place tie with Quincy atop the West Division of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Saints host the Lady Hawks Saturday in a crucial contest at 1 p.m.
 
The Saints used a 15-2 burst to build a double-digit lead in the first half. Kate Childs drilled a 3-pointer to push the Saints ahead 7-5. Shelby Miller hit a jumper and a 3-pointer for a 12-5 edge and forced a UIS timeout. After a Prairie Stars bucket, Angela Pepowski scored on a layup, and a Kayla Person handed Maryville a 17-7 lead. Two Pepowski free throws pushed the advantage to 12 points. Later in the first half, Rita Flynn scored as the Saints took their biggest lead of the half at 27-10. UIS tried to make a run but two Miller triples in the final minute provided a 36-22 lead at the break.
 
The Prairie Stars trimmed their deficit to 36-27 early in the second half, but the Saints responded with an 11-0 run. Miller hit the first of three straight 3-pointers for Maryville to ignite the run. Brittnye McSparron and Samantha Robison followed with shots from behind the arc, and a Flynn layup pushed the lead to 47-27 at the 15:57 mark. UIS got as close as 15 points, but the Saints put the game away with 13 unanswered points as led by as many as 30 points.
 
Miller hit 4-of-8 from 3-point range en route as the Saints sank 10-of-19 from deep. The sophomore guard led Maryville with 14 points as all 11 Saints who played scored. Robison added nine points and seven rebounds, and Flynn handed out five assists. Maryville held the Prairie Stars to 30.3 percent shooting.
 
The Saints improve to 15-9 overall, 11-5 in the GLVC. UIS dips to 5-19 overall, 2-14 in the league.