Early second chances doom Prairie Stars’ season opener

Taylor University out works Prairie Stars in first half, plays disciplined in second

November 12, 2008
By Michael Omenazu
Sports Writer

Photo by David Clary Susan Coryell and the Prairie Stars struggled throughout last Friday’s loss converting on mid-range jump shots outside the key.

Seconds turn into minutes. Minutes turn into hours. Hours turn into days. This buildup reflects the wait the UIS Women’s basketball team had to endure after suffering a somewhat disappointing season last year, finishing with a loss to fourth seeded Spartans of Missouri Baptist in the American Midwest Conference Tournament.

Ending with a 12-20 record, and beginning a transition into NCAA Division II play, the Prairie Stars opened their season full of excitement. Facing a schedule full of tough non-conference opposition, the first game featured a match-up against a very talented team in Taylor University.

UIS, possibly hampered by nerves and inexperience, fell behind to an eight point deficit in the first ten minutes as their opponent came out the gate looking sharp and focused. The lead then grew to ten with about five minutes to go in the first half.

However, a young UIS squad that features nine freshmen, exhibited maturity by remaining composed, cutting the lead to three with thirty five seconds left. As the half winded down, UIS’ intensity turned up on both sides of the ball.

Riding a wave of momentum, freshman guard Alex Blair tied the game by connecting on a crucial three pointer, causing a supportive home crowd to erupt.

Each school entered the intermission looking to continue upon their strong play. Commenting on their performance, UIS Head Coach Roy Gilmore stated that, “We had a tough first half but we came back and squared up the score.”

Continuing the trend of a tightly contested battle, both teams opened up the second half trading baskets back and forth. However, as a result of out-hustling their opponent and repeatedly beating them to the ball, Taylor University began to rebuild their lead.

Capitalizing on multiple second chance opportunities from offensive rebounds and scrappy play, Taylor pulled away from UIS, creating an 8 point difference with 3:23 left in the game.

The Prairie Stars continued its poor shooting as after going 7 for 24 in the first half, finished only hitting twelve of its thirty four shots in the second half, a 32.8 shooting percentage.

UIS was able to remain relevant in the first half as they relied on strong free throw shooting, connecting on 13 of 16, over 80 percent. However such was not the case as they only hit 6 of 11, shooting 54.5 percent in the second half, totaling 70 percent for the game.

Sophomore Susan Coryell highlighted this aspect of their play by reasoning that, “This was our first game of the season, and for some of the girls their first on the college level so nerves may have been a factor.”

She refused to allow herself or the team to remain complacent with any excuses affirming, “Although we were nervous, we handled ourselves pretty well and we just need to execute our plays.”

Senior leader Tiffany Sproat supported similar sentiments by providing possible adjustments the team will make such as “boxing out better individually and as a team.” She also assured that, “We will continue to work on getting better.”