(Lebanon, Ill., Jan. 7) – The McKendree University women's basketball team fell to Truman State University Saturday afternoon inside the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in a Great Lakes Valley Conference showdown. The Bearcats fell by a score of 73-64.

The loss moves McKendree to 9-5 overall and 0-4 in the GLVC this season. The Bearcats return to action Jan. 12 on the road against Rockhurst University.

McKendree was led by senior guard Amber Alexander (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway North) who scored a career high 19 points on 6-8 shooting that included a 4-5 clip from three-point range. Alexander added four dimes along with two steals and one block. Freshman guard Jordan Heberg (Romeoville, IL/Plainfield North) also hit double figures dropping 15 points to go with four assists and a pair of steals. Senior forward Ellie Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) rounded out the top scoreers for McKendree with eight points to pair with four rebounds. Sophomore forward Jordan Morton (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South) hauled in a team high seven rebounds for the Bearcats.

McKendree came out firing as the Bearcats opened the game with a 9-0 run capped off on a trey from Alexander. Truman State was held scoreless until a free throw conversion nearly four minutes into the contest. The Bulldogs trimmed the lead to four at 10-6, but McKendree pushed the lead back to six to end the first quarter after a pair of layups from freshman guard Madison Hart (Oak Creek, WI/Oak Creek).

Truman State responded in the second frame doubling up the Bearcats 20-10 with a trio of three pointers, while putting back five second chance points and capitalizing on six Bearcat turnovers that resulted in 10 points for the Bulldogs to take a 28-24 lead into the half.

A layup from freshman forward Megan Jensen (Union, MO/Saint Francis Borgia Regional ) at the 6:57 mark of the third quarter brought the Bearcats with a pair, but Truman State countered with a 12-0 run that spanned just over three minutes. McKendree outscored the Bulldogs 5-1 over the last two minutes of the quarter to cut the deficit to eight heading into the final ten minutes after Alexander connected on a three and converted a pair of free throw attempts.

Morton opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a jumper at the 8:19 mark followed by a three from Heberg to pull the Bearcats within three points. Truman State responded with a 15-2 run to push ahead 62-46 with 3:49 remaining and was able to hold on down the stretch to earn the nine point win.