Men's b-ball triumphs, learns lessons

By Mark Brockett - Sports Reporter

The UIS men's basketball team has certainly opened some eyes early on into their 2005-2006 season. They had, however, their eyes opened up as well.

The team was victorious in its only regular season contest last week against the University of Indiana-South Bend , winning the mismatch 85-63. The team jumped ahead early and led 38-19 at halftime and never let up the intensity and aggressiveness. The Stars shot at an even 50 percent in the first half and an even better 54.1 percent in the second half. The defensive pressure that the team has utilized in its first two games caused 15 turnovers.

The Stars were led in scoring by senior Antonio Puckett who had 19 points, including a 5 of 8 mark from the three-point arc. Curtis Collins continued his strong play with 14 points and eight rebounds. Renaldo McIntosh had eight points and five rebounds.

After their impressive performance, the team traveled the very next night to Eastern Illinois University , a NCAA Division IAA squad in an exhibition to test themselves to see where they are at early on in the Fall portion of the season. While playing from behind for most of the game, the team had some bright spots but couldn't mount a comeback in the 85-61 loss. Corey Farmer and Collins led the team in scoring with 11 points apiece.

The Stars look to continue their success against the rest of their non-conference opponents when they host the University of St. Francis in Indiana tonight in the UIS Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Women's b-ball has rough start

By Mike Fitzpatrick - Sports Reporter

Oftentimes when a new system is implemented, it takes time to adjust to the changes that have been made. The women's basketball team is experiencing just that. With last year's coaching staff leaving, the team then hired current coach Roy Gilmore. Gilmore's style of play and vision is a lot different from that of the previous coach, and it seems as if it might take a little time to adjust.

In the season opener, the Stars took on the Lindenwood Lions. The first half, both teams played exceptionally well and demonstrated the talents of the new members of the team.

Although the game wasn't an ideal example of how defense should be played, it was reassuring to see the Stars keeping up with the Lions. The first half ended with the Lions narrowly staying ahead of the Stars 39-36.

The second half was slightly different as the offensive production let up a bit, yielding a win for the Lions 78-69. One of the more promising signs was that the Stars had four players in double-digit figures. Newcomer Dominique Moses led with 24 points followed by junior Nicole White with 12 points and seven assists. The Stars also managed to show us their new style of unselfish basketball with the pass first mentality putting up a game-high 17 team assists.

In their second game of the season, the Stars looked to rebound with a win against the College of the Ozarks. However the results weren't very favorable for UIS, as they lost 89-63. The game started slightly rough for the Stars with College of the Ozarks taking an early lead and pretty much dominating it from start to finish.

Once again junior Dominique Moss led the team with 12 points and 12 rebounds marking it the second game in which she has had a double-double. White also pitched in with 17 points and seven rebounds. The most disappointing part of the game was that despite the Stars showing they have the talent, they just seem to be struggling to put the missing pieces together.

The season is bound to get better as it progresses, it just might take some time for everything to come together. Next up for the Stars, they will take on Freed-Hardeman University at 1:00 p.m. Saturday.

Conference match-ups mean end of season for volleyball

By Micheal Fitzpatrick - Sports Reporter

This past weekend marked the end of the regular season for the women's volleyball team. After a rather disappointing finish at the Saint Ambrose tournament, the Stars hoped that they could pick up wins in their remaining conference matches against Williams Baptist, and McKendree College . Both of these matches would provide UIS with an opportunity to fine tune some of their skills as well as be more accustomed to two of the better teams that they might be playing against in the American Midwest Conference tournament next week.

From the beginning of the match till the end, UIS played exceptionally well, controlling the game from start to finish. In what seemed to be a even better sign was that once again all of the Stars seemed to contribute and play amazingly well together as they dominated game one 30-16.

In game two the Stars kept playing with the same level of intensity and gave no opportunities to Williams Baptist while winning 30-21. With a two game to none lead over Williams Baptist, it appeared as if the match were over.

However, it was in the third game that Williams Baptist finally put the pieces together and began to work as a team. Game three provided the most competitive of the three games as both teams seemed to be firing on all cylinders.

In the end, the Stars banned together and narrowly won 30-28 in what proved to be real down to the wire type of match. Sophomore Danielle Simler led the team with 12 kills and 13 digs, followed by freshman Ali Janezic with 15 digs, and as usual senior Megan Leonard pounded out 35 more assists to add to the rather impressive year she has been having.

The toughest of the two conference matches came against McKendree College , who, till this point, had a 20-14 record and 7-5 in conference. By winning this match, UIS could move past McKendree in the conference standings, which would be extremely helpful in the seeding for next week's tournament. The two teams had met only one other time this year with McKendree winning the match three games to none, so coach Joe Fisher and the Stars knew that this wouldn't be an easily victory to come by.

For those who attended both games against McKendree, it seems as if they were watching the same game, only this time we had home court advantage. Both teams came out playing remarkably well, providing us very aggressive and nailbiter type of game.

In the end it was McKendree who took the narrowly by a score of 30-27. Upon having lost in game one, the Stars' confidence seemed to be down, and McKendree capitalized allowing them no breaks or easy scoring opportunities. Once again it was McKendree who jumped out ahead and ran with it from there 30-16.

Having a two-game lead the Stars attempted to muster up some strength and pull through for the last game, but the Bearcats showed why they had such an impressive record taking the game 30-17 and the match 3-0. Sophomore Lauren Sanders led the team with 18 digs, while junior Audra Roach added with nine kills, and Leonard's 28 assists.

Although the Stars don't have an amazing record, for the most part their games have been quite exciting to watch. Next week, they enter the big AMC tournament. Times and locations are yet to be announced but be sure to check the women's volleyball homepage for updates, and be sure to come out and support them, no matter where they are playing.

Men's b-ball triumphs, learns lessons

Women's b-ball has rough start

Conference match-ups mean end of season for volleyball