OWENSBORO, KY - In a battle that went down to the wire, the Illinois-Springfield Prairie Stars edged Kentucky Wesleyan 66-63 in the Panther's home opener. 

With the win UIS moves to 3-0 on the season while the Panthers fall to 2-1.

Kentucky Wesleyan started the game out hot, with Shiya Hoosier and Emma Johnson each hitting a three pointer to give the Panthers a 6-0 lead just over a minute into the game. After that KWC would go cold, failing to score for the rest of the period as UIS took a 9-6 lead into the second quarter. 

In the second quarter, Tahlia Walton quickly changed the game, making two straight layups to give the lead back to KWC. Following a back and forth battle throughout the entire frame, Walton would score Kentucky Wesleyan's final six points of the quarter and the Panthers went into halftime leading 26-21. 

After using a three by Leah Richardson and a layup by Jordyn Barga to go up by seven early in the third quarter, the Prairie Starts started storming back. Illinois-Springfield caught fire, hitting six of their next eight shots to go up 44-38 with 2:22 left in the period. Although Johnson hit two free throws to close the quarter, the Panthers still found themselves trailing 47-40 going into the final 10 minutes of play. 

Fueled by seven straight points from Walton, the Panthers went on a 10-1 run to begin the fourth quarter to retake the lead. The teams went back-and-forth over the entire frame and with 1:17 on the clock both teams were tied at 60. Much to the Panthers woe, the Prairie Stars hit all four of their free throws and made a layup in the final minute to give UIS the three point victory.

Tahlia Walton led the Panthers with 23 points on 10-13 shooting. Leah Richardson tallied eight while Emma Johnson and Cali Nolot each notched seven. Jordyn Barga led the way with seven rebounds while Walton tallied six. Shiya Hoosier had five assists in the game. 

The Panthers struggled in the 1st and 3rd quarters, shooting a combined 5-32 (15.6%) in the frames. On the contrary, they shot a phenomenal 18-27 (66.6%) in the 2nd and 4th quarters combined. 

For the game KWC shot 23-59 (39%) from the field and 5-26 (19.2%) from three. UIS shot 26-54 (48.1%) from the field and 4-9 (44.4%) from behind the arc. The Panthers did shoot free throws really well, only missing two of their 14 attempts from the charity stripe. 

Kentucky Wesleyan hits the road for their next matchup as they will head to St. Louis on Saturday to take on the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CT.

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