(GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Dec. 30)—The McKendree University women's basketball team rallied in the second half to post a 73-53 victory Saturday on the road at Davenport University.
The Bearcats outscored the host Panthers 51-28 over the final 20 minutes of play, including a 15-2 run to end the third quarter which put McKendree in front to stay. With the win, McKendree improves to 4-5 overall and will head back into Great Lakes Valley Conference play Thursday with a trip to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
Sophomore guard Madison Hart paced McKendree with 18 points, while sophomore guard Jordan Heberg scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half. Sophomore forward Shayli Florine came off the bench to match a season-high with 12 points and six rebounds for the Bearcats. Junior forward Jordan Morton led McKendree with seven rebounds, while freshman guard Callie Pohlman helped out with game-high totals of seven assists and six steals in the effort.
Davenport (4-8) opened up a 22-13 lead midway through the second quarter before McKendree scored nine of the last 12 points of the half to pull within 25-22 at the intermission. The Panthers stretched the margin to 35-30 with 6:46 remaining in the third period before the Bearcats battled back once again. McKendree went on a 14-2 run to surge in front, 44-37, with 1:27 remaining in the quarter. Florine scored six of her 12 points during the burst. The Bearcats also turned up the defensive pressure during the key run, forcing seven turnovers by the Panthers.
After holding a 49-39 lead after three quarters of play, McKendree continued to add to its advantage. The Bearcats maintained their double-digit advantage over the final 10 minutes of play, grabbing their largest lead of the afternoon on its final basket of the day, a three-pointer by freshman guard Sydney Diekhoff, with just over two minutes to play.
In the second half, McKendree made 18-of-27 shots from the field for 66.7 percent. Defensively, the Bearcats held Davenport to just 33.3 percent shooting (12-of-36) in the same span.
McKendree forced 26 turnovers by Davenport in the win and converted that into 19 points on the offensive end of the floor. In addition, the Bearcats collected a season-high 18 steals against the Panthers, marking the third time this season that the team reached double digits in the category. McKendree also enjoyed a solid performance from the free throw line, hitting 19-of-24 attempts in the win (79.2 percent).
Claire Austin led a balanced attack for Davenport with 11 points, while Taylor Smith dropped in 10 points in a reserve role. Jenna Falkenberg hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds for the Panthers.
