(PAINESVILLE, Ohio, April 28)- The McKendree University women's lacrosse team used a balanced offensive attack on Tuesday to earn a 19-9 win at Lake Erie College in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals.

The Bearcats, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, improve to 11-6 overall, and will travel to Allendale, Mich. on Friday for a game against No. 16 and top-seed Grand Valley State University at 7 p.m. ET in the GLIAC tournament semifinals.

Rianne Holzmeyer (Hazelwood, Mo./Hazelwood West) scored a team-high five goals in the win, while Mia Fiore (Eureka, Mo./Eureka High School) added four goals. Victoria Lelo (Auckland, New Zealand/Westlake) and Dana DiPasquale (St. Charles, Mo./Barat Academy) each scored three times, and Morgan Cremen (Manchester, Md./Manchester Valley) and Paige Salthouse (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline Academy) each had two goals. Lelo also tallied a team-high three assists, to go along with five draw controls. Fiore also had five ground balls and four draw controls. Amy Porta (Ellisville, Mo./Marquette) improved to 11-6 overall and had eight saves in the victory.

Both teams battled for the upper hand in the first half, with McKendree opening up the game with three-straight goals in the first seven minutes, before the hosts responded with four-straight of their own to take a 4-3 lead. The Bearcats regained the lead with three goals in three minutes to go up 6-4, before Lake Erie cut its deficit to 6-5 with a goal with just over six minutes to play in the first half. McKendree extended its lead to 8-5 with goals from Holzmeyer and Fiore 38-seconds apart, and went into the half leading 9-6 after both teams scored in the final two minutes of the opening period.

The Bearcats took control in the second half, outshooting the Storm, 22-9, and holding the hosts to only three goals in the final half. Lake Erie cut the McKendree lead to 13-9 with 13:10 left, but the Bearcats scored the final six goals of the game to cruise to the win.