(LEBANON, Ill. – FEB. 23) – The McKendree University women’s basketball team defeated Hannibal-LaGrange College, 72-55, Saturday behind a career-high 24 points by junior forward Emily Best (Wood River, Ill./East Alton-Wood River) (Wood River, Ill./East Alton-Wood River). 

McKendree improved to 21-8 overall and 13-1 in the American Midwest Conference, while Hannibal-LaGrange fell to 1-28 overall and 0-14 in the AMC. The win also gave the Bearcats home court advantage throughout the AMC tournament. Saturday's victory also wrapped up the AMC regular-season championship for McKendree. The Bearcats finished a game in front of Harris-Stowe State University in the final AMC standings.

 

Best had 24 points and four rebounds in the win, while freshman guard Ashley Agee (Moberly, Mo./Moberly) (Moberly, Mo./Moberly) scored 16 points with five rebounds. Junior forward Julie Garrison (Centralia, Ill./Centralia) (Centralia, Ill./Centralia) matched her career high with 15 points. Kashundria Berry and Sara Rondeau led the Lady Trojans with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

 

McKendree led the majority of the first half and led 32-21 with three minutes left in the first half. The Lady Trojans rattled off seven straight points to cut the Bearcats lead to four, 32-28, with 1:30 remaining, and both teams headed into the half with a score of 36-32.

 

The Lady Trojans would take the lead three minutes into the second half on a three-pointer by Rondeau and led by four, 44-40, with 15 minutes left to play. In wouldn’t last long though, as the Bearcats would outscore the Trojans 28-5 over the next 12 minutes to take a 68-49 lead. The Bearcats stepped up their defensive pressure down the stretch and came away with the win.

 

After both teams shot an identical 43-percent from the field in the first half, but the Bearcats shot 51-percent in the second half to the Lady Trojans’ 32-percent. McKendree shot 47-percent from the field for the game compared to the Lady Trojans’ 38-percent.