(SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Dec. 12)- Junior forward Ellie Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) scored a season-high 24 points on Saturday to lead the McKendree University women's basketball team to a 77-62 win at University of Illinois Springfield.

The Bearcats improve to 3-6 overall and 1-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with the win and will host Oakland City University on Wednesday, December 16 at 5 p.m.

Pusheck's 24 points led all players, while senior guards Kacey Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) and Kelsee Ennis (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South) added 18 and 10 points, respectively.

McKendree shot a season-high 57.4-percent from the field and never trailed in the contest. The Bearcats opened the game with a layup and free throw by Pusheck, before the Prairie Stars scored on the next possession. McKendree used a 8-0 run take an 11-2 lead and held a 17-10 lead at the end of the quarter. UIS battled back in the second quarter to tie the game 19-19 with 5:58 left, but the Bearcats held on and went into the half with a 30-23 lead.

The Prairie Stars cut McKendree's lead to 40-36 with 6:12 left in the 3rd quarter, but it was as close as the hosts would come. The Bearcats led 60-50 at the end of the third quarter, and held on to its double-digit lead for the entire fourth quarter to earn the win.