(Lebanon, Ill., Jan. 12) --The McKendree University women's basketball team used a late surge against Rockhurst University Thursday evening in Kansas City, MO as the Bearcats outscored the Hawks 21-7 in the fourth quarter, but were unable to pull of the comeback falling to the Hawks 70-60 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action.

The loss drops McKendree to 9-6 overall and 0-5 in the GLVC. The Bearcats return to action Saturday against William Jewell College in Liberty, MO with tip set for 1 p.m.

Sophomore Jordan Morton (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South) finished two rebounds shy of a double-double after recording 11 points and eight boards that included six on the offensive end of the floor. Freshman guard Andranae Wash (St. Louis, MO/Cardinal Ritter College Prep) also scored 11 points adding four rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals. Freshman forward Shayli Florine (Galesburg, IL/Galesburg) went 3-3 from the field for seven points and was joined by fellow freshman Madison Hart (Oak Creek, WI/Oak Creek) who scored seven of her own after going 7-10 from the charity stripe.

Senior guard Amber Alexander (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway North) and Morton opened the scoring for McKendree with back to back layups to give the Bearcats a 4-3 lead just over two minutes into the contest. The Hawks bounced back with a 12-0 run before Alexander was able to stop the run with a jumper at the 5:26 mark to move the score to 15-6. McKendree cut the lead to nine on a free throw from Hart, but the Hawks outscored the Bearcats 7-5 over the last four minutes to take an 11 point lead after the first quarter.

A pair of free throws counted the first points of the second quarter for Rockhurst as the Hawks moved ahead 29-14 with a 5-0 run to open the frame. Hart cashed in on four of her free throws to lead scoring for the Bearcats and McKendree received a solid contribution from its bench as Wash and Hart combined for 10 points for McKendree, but the Bearcats trailed the Hawks 47-29 at the half.

Senior guard Abby Smith (Romeoville, Ill./Romeoville) came off the bench to score five points on 2-3 shooting in the third quarter including a three point try with 3:33 left in the third quarter, but the Hawks continued to roll taking a 63-39 advantage into the fourth.

McKendree worked the ball inside in the final ten minutes scoring 14 of its 21 fourth quarter points in the paint and capitalized with six points off turnovers and five second chance points. McKendree used a 15-3 run to open the action as Morton and Florine combined for 13 points, but the Bearcats were unable to overcome the early deficit falling by 10.