Box Score VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 20)- The McKendree University women's basketball team rallied, but came up short down the stretch on Saturday in a 53-50 loss to University of Southern Indiana.

The Bearcats fall to 11-16 overall and 6-11 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, and will host University of Illinois Springfield in the final game of the regular season at 5:30 p.m., on Thursday, Feb. 25.

Senior guard Kelsee Ennis (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South) led McKendree with 13 points, while fellow seniors Ashley Klass (Evansville, Ind./Evansville North) and Kacey Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) each added three points. Johnson also added a team-high three steals.

Both teams traded baskets in the early going of the contest, until McKendree took a 10-9 lead on a jumper by Johnson with 3:05 left in the quarter. The Eagles tied the game with 49-seconds left in the quarter, but sophomore Halle Devoe (Springfield, Ill./Southeast) made four free throws on two separate trips to the line at the end of the period to give the Bearcats a 17-13 lead. McKendree held on to its lead for the entire second quarter, leading by as many as seven twice, and led 27-23 at the half.

Southern Indiana rallied out of the half, using an 8-0 run in the middle of the period to take a 35-31 lead, but a free throw by Emily Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) cut the score to 35-34 with 2:05 left in the period. The Eagles ended the quarter with a 37-35 lead with one period to play. Ennis opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to put the Bearcats in the lead, 38-37, but Southern Indiana answered with a jumper on the following possession to regian the lead. A jumper by Ennis tied the game, 45-45, with 4:48 left, but the Eagles held on down the stretch to earn the 53-50 win.

Morgan Dahlstrom led all players with 19 points for Southern Indiana.