SPRINGFIELD, IL- An explosive second half would lift the Miners over the Prairie Stars in their first GLVC match of the week. Alex Kerr (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) led S&T with a career high 24 points while Mykala Baylor (South Bend, Ind./Clay) came out with her 4^th double-double of the year with 18 points and 12 boards.

Illinois Springfield (5-9, 2-4 GLVC) jumped on the Miner's guards to begin the game, forcing five turnovers in S&T's back court in the first five minutes of the game. Alex Kerr (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) was the Miner's saving grace in the opening period, scoring 10 of her 24 in the opening quarter.

Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) would end the quarter with a steal and a fast break lay-up to cut the Miner's deficit to 23-16 heading into the second part of the half.

Neither team could buy a basket in the second quarter, combining for 16 total points and shooting just 24% from the field.

Coach Alan Eads couldn't be too upset with his team going into the half; although they were looking at a 31-24 deficit, all 24 Miner points in the first half came inside the paint.

The Miners (6-6, 2-3 GLVC) found their groove in the third quarter, taking their first lead of the night with a short jumper along the baseline from Kerr. S&T would never trail the Prairie Stars for the remainder of the game.

A 28 point third quarter performance would give the Miners a 52-46 lead going into the final 10 minutes.

On top of Kerr and Baylor's stellar  performances, Jordan Kabetske (Republic, Mo./Republic) had a season high 17 points with 10 of them coming in the final stretch of the game while Michaela Davis (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) came off the bench to match her season high of 16 points while going 8-11 from the charity stripe.

The Miners took their 52-46 lead into the 4^th quarter and extended it to as much as 12 after a made free-throw from Davis with 53 seconds left in the game.

UIS answered with 13 unanswered points in the final 45 seconds of the game to attempt to extend the game to overtime; their efforts would be short lived as the Miners sank seven free-throws to secure their 83-77 win.

S&T finished the game shooting 52.7% from the field and 76.7% from the free-throw line. They set a new season record of points scored in a half with their 59 point second half performance and with their shooting percentage of 52.7% from the floor. The team finished the game with 50 of their 83 points in the paint while dishing out 20 assists.

The Miners will finish their road trip in Lebanon, Ill. on Saturday afternoon when they take on the Bearcats of McKendree University.