When University of Illinois Springfield women’s basketball coach Marne Fauser signed nine new players last offseason, she had an idea of what she wanted.
Her vision is taking shape.
The Prairie Stars got their first Great Lakes Valley Conference victory in January, then they won a road league game on Valentine’s Day. The season culminated with UIS beating Lewis 72-69 in its season finale Saturday.
The Stars finished with an 8-18 overall record and a 3-15 GLVC mark, an improvement on last year’s 3-24 and 0-17 records.
“Some of my colleagues said we would be playing better at the end of the year,” Fauser said.
A youth movement helped spark the Stars’ growth.
“The last month, we had four or five people who scored in double figures in games,” UIS freshman guard Megan Bergerud said. “We shared the ball really well.”
Two of the Stars’ top scorers were freshmen, with guard Alyssa Palmer leading the way. The only key senior on this year’s roster was Paulina Pogorzelski, who averaged 9.9 points and 7 rebounds per game.
The team was featured in a February 24, 2011, article in The State Journal-Register.
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