(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 11)—The McKendree University women's basketball team kicked off its 2017-18 season with an 88-44 victory Saturday evening at home against Blackburn College.
The Bearcats torched the nets for 71.4 percent shooting (10-of-14) in the first quarter on its way to a 28-8 lead and held a 47-19 edge at the half in cruising to the non-conference win. McKendree will take its 1-0 record to Quincy, Ill., next weekend for the QU Subway Tip-Off Classic. The Bearcats will open play Friday evening at 5 p.m. by taking on Upper Iowa University before meeting Winona State University next Saturday at 1 p.m. in Pepsi Arena.
Against Blackburn, all 12 McKendree players found the scoring column. Freshman guard Sydney Diekhoff and sophomore guard Jordan Heberg each connected for 13 points, while sophomore forward Shayli Florine added 12 points and a team-leading seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Madison Hart dished out a game-high seven assists as senior guard
Abby Smith (Romeoville, Ill./Romeoville) came off the bench to lead all players with three steals.
Defensively, McKendree limited the visiting Beavers to just 37.3 percent shooting (19-of-51) in the contest and forced 27 turnovers. The Bearcats held a 38-5 edge in point off turnovers and converted 18 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points.
McKendree broke from the gates quickly, scoring the first 10 points against Blackburn in a three-minute span. After the Beavers netted their first points of the night at the 6:41 mark of the first period, the Bearcats reeled off seven straight points to extend the margin to 17-2. Five different players scored during the decisive opening stretch for the hosts. McKendree then connected on its final four shots of the quarter, capped by a three-pointer from freshman forward Hannah Kath, to give the Bearcats a 20-point cushion after 10 minutes.
Heberg scored six of her 13 points in the second quarter as McKendree was able to stretch its margin. Although Blackburn (0-1) made nearly 56 percent of its shots in the period, the Bearcats forced nine turnovers by the Beavers to grab its 47-19 lead at the intermission. McKendree regained its shooting touch in the third quarter by hitting 7-of-11 field goal tries to push its lead to 64-31 following the period and slowly pulled away in the fourth period to gain its first win of the new season.
The 88 points scored by McKendree is the highest scoring output by the Bearcats in a regular-season opener during the program's NCAA Division II era that dates back to the 2012-13 season.
