Illinois Springfield Recap
In its first road contest of the season, Maryville women's basketball suffered its first loss of the season at Illinois Springfield Saturday afternoon. The Prairie Stars held off the Saints 58-55 as a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have forced overtime bounced off the rim. Jayda Jansen led the Saints with 18 points, while Karlee Feldman finished with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
 
What Happened
The Prairie Stars hit their first three 3-pointers and quickly grabbed an 18-10 lead after the first quarter. The Saints used a 5-0 burst on a Jansen 3-pointer and a bucket by Donnetta Colbert to get within 21-15. USI led by as much as 13 points before Maryville scored the last six points in the second to cut the gap down to 31-24.
 
Jansen opened the third with a triple. After UIS scored a bucket, Jansen had a driving layup. Donnetta Colbert stole the inbounds pass, and Antoinette Mussorici splashed in a 3-pointer to bring the Saints to 33-32 at the 8:15 mark. Two free throws and a layup by Feldman finally gave the Saint their first lead of the game at 38-37 with 4:01 left to play in the third. The lead went back and forth before Hunter Stidham hit a jumper in the final minute for a 44-43 lead going into the fourth.
 
Jansen hit a jumper to tie the game 49-49 at the 6:29 mark. However, the Saints went more than four minutes without scoring midway through the quarter as UIS inched ahead. Colbert and Jansen hit two free throws apiece as Maryville closed the gap to 56-53 with 1:32 to play. UIS missed a pair at the line, and Feldman powered up for a basket with 25.6 remaining to trim the gap to one point. Maryville blocked a shot to get the ball back but missed with 8.7 ticks left. Lauren Ladowski made two free throws with 7.1 seconds left to build a 58-55 lead. The Saints had a look from 3-point range that would have forced overtime but the attempt hit both the front and back rim before bouncing out.
 
Statistical Leaders
Points: Jayda Jansen - 18
Rebounds: Karlee Feldman - 8
3-Point Field Goals: Jayda Jansen - 2
Assists: Hunter Stidham - 2
Steals: Jayda Jansen - 2
Blocked Shots: Karlee Feldman - 3
 
Notable
The Saints fell short in their attempt to start Great Lakes Valley Conference play 3-0 for the first time.
UIS committed 22 turnovers, the third straight opponent to commit at least 20 in a game. The last time that happened was Jan. 24, 26, 31, in 2013.
Maryville was averaging 81.0 points per game but posted a season low against the Prairie Stars.
The 58 points scored by UIS is the lowest total this season by a Maryville opponent.
 
Records
Maryville: 2-1, 2-1 GLVC
Illinois Springfield: 2-1, 2-1 GLVC
 
What's Next?
The Saints do not have a midweek game and are not in action again until they return home Saturday, Dec. 12, to host Quincy in a 1 p.m. contest.