Coming all the way from Indianapolis, Ind. is number three of the UIS women’s basketball team, Meredith Marti.

Although she is new to the area, she is not new to the game of basketball. Marti has been playing basketball since the third grade.

“I think it was just one of those things with my dad and mom trying to get me into sports. Basketball ended up being the one I enjoyed the most and ended up sticking with,” Marti said.

Marti attended Perry Meridian High School in Indianapolis. On top of being on the school’s academic honor roll, Marti participated on the volleyball team there as well as the basketball team.

“I initially came to UIS on a recruiting visit,” Marti said. “I really liked the campus, and I fit in with the other members of the team. Another reason I decided to go to UIS was the scholarship.”

Marti began her basketball career at UIS back in November against Seattle Pacific. On the court, she plays the position of guard. Out of 15 games as a Prairie Star, Marti has played for over 300 minutes and has scored over 60 points. She averages about 4.1 points, 1.0 steal, 1.0 assist, and 2.3 rebounds per game.

Marti said some of her favorite memories from her basketball career so far were beating her high school’s rival team, and the comeback win over Lindenwood-Belleville while on the UIS basketball team last December.

Marti belongs to the freshman class and is majoring in business here at UIS. She is still unsure what she would like to do with her degree once she graduates in 2016.

The UIS girls’ basketball team still has nine games to play, four of them being home games, before their regular season comes to an end. Their next home game is against Missouri-St. Louis and is scheduled for Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. in TRAC.