Illinois Springfield Women's Basketball (2-1) defeated Hillsdale (1-1) 69-62 on Saturday, closing the crossover tournament hosted by UIS with a fourth-quarter comeback. Sophomore Julia Mingus led all scorers with a career-high 33 points

The Prairie Stars opened the game by creating turnovers and building a 6-0 lead, getting layups from Kace Urlacher and Julia Sollberger before Kayla Rice made two free throws. Hillsdale later moved ahead 10-8, but Allison Wheeler hit two free throws with 1:05 left to tie the game at 10-10. UIS forced eight turnovers with five steals in the quarter, helping offset a 2-for-14 start from the field.

UIS closed the second quarter by turning a 23-17 deficit into a 27-26 halftime lead, with Julia Mingus scoring the go-ahead layup with six seconds left. Alandyn Simmons started the late response with a layup and free throw at 1:57, then assisted on Mingus' tying 3-pointer at 1:11 before Rice added a layup after Hillsdale went back in front. 

Mingus drove the Prairie Stars' third-quarter separation, scoring 10 consecutive team points from the 7:57 mark to 6:32 as the lead reached 39-29. UIS finished the quarter with 16 points in the paint, five steals and just three turnovers, outscoring Hillsdale 24-15 in the third quarter. Rice's late steal and layup sent the Prairie Stars to the fourth quarter ahead 51-41.

UIS protected a one-point fourth-quarter lead by answering Hillsdale's push with a 6-0 run, as Mingus scored inside, Rice converted a steal into a jumper and Rice added two free throws to make it 63-56 with 3:47 left. After Maddie Smith's 3-pointer brought Hillsdale within 65-60 at 0:46, the Prairie Stars added four free throws in the final 31 seconds to close out a 69-62 win.

Mingus scored 33 points, going 11-for-22 from the field with four 3-pointers and seven free throws. Rice added 18 points, converted all six free throws and matched the team lead with four steals. Urlacher collected a team-high eight rebounds and added four points. Sollberger also recorded four steals to go with four points and two assists.

"Today was a good bounce-back win. We showed a lot of grit and found a way to win," said head coach Olivia Birt.

Illinois Springfield's home stretch continues Wednesday at 5:30 against Ashland.