It’s spring break for University of Illinois Springfield students.
The women’s basketball players better enjoy it because when they return to campus, coach Mark Kost will begin putting them through spring workouts.
Kost is allowed eight hours a week to work with them.
UIS made gains as a program during the 2017-18 season and all involved are ready to take it up a notch.
The Prairie Stars should have the majority of their squad back since they’re only losing three seniors.
“We had end-of-the-season individual meetings last week,” Kost said. “It’s time for some players to step up, take on new roles and improve. That’s going to be the key to how good we are next year and if we keep this positive momentum going. We have made progress. We are getting better. We are beating some teams that we didn’t beat in the past. Now we’ve got to make that next step.”
It’s possible to divide the Stars’ season into two simple parts: pre-injuries and post-injuries. They finished with a 13-13 overall record and were 7-11 in the conference.
”As a result, the Stars earned their first NCAA Division II regional ranking in program history at the beginning of December. Just before Christmas, they moved their record to 8-1 with an 18-point win against NCAA Tournament qualifier Embry-Riddle, which had received votes in the national poll at the time.
This article appeared in The State Journal-Register on March 14, 2018.
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