(Lebanon, Ill., Dec. 19) – The McKendree University women's basketball team ground out a 63-57 victory over Kentucky State University Monday evening inside the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.

The win moves the Bearcats to 8-3 overall. McKendree will be off for 10 days for the holiday break before wrapping up non-conference play Dec. 30 against Lincoln University.
McKendree was paced by senior forward Ellie Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) who netted a a game high 18 points on 7-11 shooting to go with six rebounds. Fellow senior forward Emily Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) and senior guard Shannon McGinnis (Niles, Ill./Trinity) each sank 12 points with each adding eight rebounds. Senior guard Amber Alexander (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway North) and sophomore forward Jordan Morton (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South) rounded out the top scorers for the Bearcats with eight points apiece.

The Thorobreds shot 47.1% in the first quarter with all 18 of their points coming in the paint, including six fast break points as Kentucky States bench outscored the Bearcats 9-0 to take a six-point lead after the first 10 minutes of action. Ellie Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) led McKendree with six points in the first frame with McGinnis chipping in four of her own.

The Bearcats trimmed the lead in the second quarter as a jumper from freshman guard Jordan Heberg (Romeoville, IL/Plainfield North) cut the deficit to 25-21 with 3:50 remaining. Emily Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) followed with a basket of her own for back to back field goals just 23 seconds later to pull McKendree within one. The Thorobreds countered with a pair of baskets to push the lead back to five, but Emily Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) hit a jumper with just four seconds remaining in the half to cut the lead to 29-26 heading into intermission.

The Bearcats continued to battle after the break scoring four points on a pair of layups just 22 seconds apart from Morton and Alexander to give McKendree a one-point lead before a layup from Ellie Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) capped a 6-0 run to open the third quarter. Kentucky State responded 9-4 run to recapture the lead at 38-36 with 5:20 remaining. The teams combined for just five points in the last five minutes of the quarter with the Bearcats outscoring the Thorobreds 4-1 to take a one-point lead into the final 10 minutes of action.

A steal from Alexander opened the action in the fourth, forcing a Kentucky State foul that resulted in pair of free throw conversions to give McKendree a three-point lead. The Thorobreds clung to the Bearcats heals but were unable to overtake the McKendree lead after cutting the margin to just one point with a pair of free throws with 4:01 remaining. McGinnis hit a jumper to give the Bearcats some breathing room, before a jumper from Emily Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) gave McKendree a 56-52 lead with 2:32 to go. A basket from Kentucky State trimmed the lead to two with just over a minute to go in regulation, but a layup from McGinnis and a trio of free throws from Alexander and McGinnis proved to be enough to hold off the Thorobreds as McKendree earned a six point win.