Thursday, February 16, 2012

UIS Basketball: Plenty at stake for Prairie Stars

There’s a lot on the line Thursday night when the University of Illinois Springfield men’s and women’s basketball teams play at Maryville in Great Lakes Valley Conference games.

The UIS women are fighting to qualify for the GLVC Championship Tournament, while the men’s team is chasing a league title. The Prairie Stars women’s team and Missouri-St. Louis are tied for fifth in the West Division of the GLVC standings with a 4-11 record.

It’s not a dire situation for the UIS men’s team. The Stars are tied with Quincy for second in the West standings, a single game behind division leader Missouri-St. Louis. UIS is 13-11 overall and 10-5 in the conference. UIS has 11 wins in its last 15 games.

“We’re in a situation where we control how the season plays out, and that’s a good thing,” UIS men’s coach Ben Wierzba said.

The teams were featured in an February 16, 2012, article in The State Journal-Register.

Read the article online