QUINCY, Ill. - The BOS Traveling Cup stays with Quincy, as the Hawks took down the Prairie Stars in a 71–70 nailbiter that came down to the final seconds. Quincy led for over 90 percent of the game, but a second-half surge from Illinois Springfield gave Pepsi Arena a scare.

Quincy jumped out to a 10–4 lead over the first five-and-a-half minutes, led by Hampton Williams' seven points and a three-point play from Karly Peters. During that stretch, UIS was ice cold, opening the game 2-for-10 from the field. Once the Hawks grabbed the early advantage, they controlled the remainder of the opening half.

The final five minutes featured a back-and-forth battle, though both teams found success in different ways. The Prairie Stars relied on the free-throw line, going a perfect 6-for-6 and finally knocking down their first three of the game with under a minute remaining. Quincy countered with a strong stretch from Reagan Reed, who scored seven straight points and finished the quarter with 10, the best quarter of her young collegiate career. UIS hit a buzzer-beating layup, but the Hawks held a 24–15 lead after 10 minutes.

Quincy shot an efficient 50 percent from the field and went 5-for-6 at the line, while UIS struggled shooting 4-for-14 but stayed close by also going 6-for-6 from the stripe. The Hawks exploited a Prairie Star weakness early, out-rebounding UIS 14–6 in the opening quarter, including six offensive boards.

The second quarter remained tight throughout, with Quincy consistently maintaining an 8-to-10-point cushion as UIS continued to struggle from deep, an area that has been their bread and butter this season. Down the stretch, the Hawks' bench made a major impact, as Hayven Harden scored six of Quincy's final 11 points of the half. Both Harden and Reed reached double figures off the bench before halftime, as Quincy took a 40-28 lead into the break.

It was another 50-percent shooting quarter for Quincy, while UIS endured another difficult stretch offensively, shooting 3-for-12 from the field and 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. Once again, free throws kept the Prairie Stars within striking distance, as they went a perfect 6-for-6 at the line.

Offense was slow to start the second half, as it took nearly 90 seconds before the first basket, a score from Williams, finally fell. With Quincy holding a 14-point lead, momentum quickly swung in favor of UIS over the next three minutes. After shooting just 2-for-11 from three in the first half, the Prairie Stars caught fire, going on a 16–5 run while shooting 6-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from deep, cutting the deficit to three before the midway point of the quarter.

The Hawks halted the run at the free-throw line, converting 7-of-9 attempts in the final five minutes. A layup from Peters pushed the lead back to eight, but UIS once again answered with a buzzer-beating layup, trimming Quincy's advantage to 58–52 heading into the fourth quarter.

UIS posted its best offensive quarter of the night, scoring 24 points on 50 percent shooting with four triples. Quincy weathered the storm by matching that efficiency from the field and consistently getting to the line to protect its lead.

The Prairie Stars stayed hot to open the fourth, knocking down two more threes to tie the game at 58 just three minutes in, as turnovers began to plague the Hawks. A free throw at the 6:52 mark gave UIS its first lead since the opening minutes of the game.

Quincy responded immediately with a 5–0 run in just over a minute, fueled by three free throws and a transition layup from Blair Eftink.

The final five minutes delivered chaos, bodies diving on the floor, constant contact, and tension building with every possession. With the score tied at 65, Harden and Reed once again provided a spark off the bench, scoring back-to-back layups to give Quincy a 69–65 lead with just over a minute remaining.

UIS turned to its star, Kayla Rice, who, despite an off shooting night, buried a tough pull-up three to cut the deficit to one. The Hawks had chances to seal the game at the line, but a pair of 1-for-2 trips kept the Prairie Stars alive. In the final seconds, UIS knocked down both free throws to pull within one.

Head coach Ali Schwagmeyer-Belger called a timeout to advance the ball and drew up a clean sideline out-of-bounds play, but the potential game-sealing layup rolled off. UIS raced the other way, and a desperation heave rattled off the backboard and the front of the rim, allowing the Hawks to escape with a 71–70 victory.

Quincy shot 43.9 percent from the field and connected on just two three-pointers, its lowest total of the season, but made up for it by knocking down 19-of-26 free throws. UIS shot 37.1 percent from the field but stayed in the game by hitting nine three-pointers, seven of which came in the second half, while shooting an efficient 15-for-18 from the line.

The Hawks dominated the glass with a 49–27 rebounding advantage, including 18 offensive rebounds that turned into 14 second-chance points. Both benches were productive, with UIS scoring 34 bench points compared to Quincy's 29.

Quincy also controlled the paint, outscoring the Prairie Stars 40–28 inside, aided by a season-high eight blocks as a team.

It was a complete team effort for the Hawks, with four players scoring in double figures. Harden led the way off the bench with a season-high 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting while going 6-for-8 at the line. Williams followed with 14 points, while Reed turned in the best performance of her freshman season, posting season-highs with 13 points and 11 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double on 5-for-7 shooting.

Despite an off shooting night, Katey Flynn still reached double figures for the ninth time this season with 10 points, while making a major defensive impact with a steal and three blocks, tying her career-high. Flynn also dished out a career-high six assists and hauled in a season-high eight rebounds. Acheampomaa Danso added four points but was dominant on the glass and defensively with 10 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.

The Hawks will look to extend their win streak to three games as they take on the Greyhounds of Indianapolis on Saturday, January 10, at 1:00 PM.