(SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Jan. 25)—The McKendree College women’s basketball team cruised to an 80-63 victory Thursday evening at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

 

Senior guard Katie Hasheider (Okawville, Ill./Okawville) (Okawville, Ill./Okawville) led the way with 17 points, four assists and three steals as the Bearcats won for the second time in their last five games. McKendree improves to 12-8 overall and 3-2 in the American Midwest Conference. The Bearcats have won each of their last two AMC contests.

 

McKendree produced on both ends of the floor as 10 different players scored in the contest while forcing 25 Prairie Star turnovers on defense. The Bearcats turned a six-point halftime lead into a 30-point bulge late in the game thanks in part to a 15-2 run to open the final 20 minutes of play.

 

Junior forward Heather Elders (Energy, Ill./Herrin) (Energy, Ill./Herrin) connected for 16 points, while sophomore forward Emily Best (Wood River, Ill./East Alton-Wood River) (Worden, Ill./East Alton-Wood River) came off the bench to add 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Bearcats. Senior forward Emily Hart (Columbia, Ill./Columbia) (Columbia, Ill./Columbia) rounded out the list of double-digit scorers for McKendree with 10 points.

 

In the first half, McKendree raced to a 13-5 advantage before Illinois-Springfield battled back. The Prairie Stars put together an 18-2 run, holding the Bearcats scoreless over the final five minutes of the spurt, to grab a 23-15 lead with 8:25 left in the period. McKendree responded with a 19-3 run late in the first half on its way to a 37-31 lead at the intermission.

 

The trio of Hasheider, Elders and Hart combined to score all 15 points in the Bearcats’ run to open the second half that lifted McKendree to a 52-33 lead with just under 16 minutes to play. McKendree took its largest lead of the night, 74-44, on a jumper by junior guard Amanda Lance (Poplar Bluff, Mo./Twin Rivers) (Poplar Bluff, Mo./Twin Rivers) with 8:33 on the clock.

 

Bethany Borrenpohl and Jasmine Woolfolk each had 14 points and eight rebounds to lead Illinois-Springfield, which drops to 8-13 on the year and 3-2 in the AMC.

 

McKendree will be on the road Saturday for an AMC contest at Missouri Baptist University. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.