(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 4)— The McKendree University women's basketball team dropped a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest to the University of Missouri-St. Louis Saturday afternoon inside the Harry M. Statham Sports Center on Senior Day. The Bearcats fell by a score of 63-58.

The loss dips McKendree to 10-12 overall and 1-11 in the GLVC. The Bearcats return to action Feb. 9 with another GLVC showdown at Drury University.

McKendree had three players reach double figures highlighted by senior forward Emily Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) who scored 12 points to go with five rebounds. Senior guard Shannon McGinnis (Niles, Ill./Trinity) and senior forward Ellie Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) each added 10 points with McGinnis hauling in seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a career high two blocks. Senior guard Amber Alexander (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway North) posted seven points along with seven boards, six assists, and three steals and freshman guard Jordan Heberg (Romeoville, IL/Plainfield North) matched Alexander with seven points of her own.

Emily and Ellie Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) got the scoring started for the Bearcats with a pair of layups to give McKendree an early lead. The Tritons responded with five straight points to take a three-point lead at 7-4 before extending the margin to 12-8 with 2:09 to play in the first quarter. Freshman guard Andranae Wash (St. Louis, MO/Cardinal Ritter College Prep) hit a pair of free throws to bring the Bearcats within two, and was followed by a layup from Ellie Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) to square things at 12-12. Emily Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) briefly gave McKendree the lead after hitting jumper with 23 seconds to play, but the Tritons answered with a layup at the buzzer to tie the game after the first 10-minutes.

UMSL took a four-point lead with a layup at the 6:52 mark and followed with a three-point conversion to go up by seven. The Bearcats trimmed the lead to three points after McGinnis and sophomore forward Jordan Morton (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South) hit on back-to-back baskets, but the Tritons bounced back and moved the deficit back to seven points with a layup at the 1:03 mark. Ellie Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) hit a layup with 29 seconds left to move the score to 33-28, but UMSL nailed a trey as time expired to take an eight-point lead into the half.

Heberg opened the scoring in the second half after splashing from deep, but the Tritons strung together a 6-0 run to move ahead 42-31. The Bearcats brought the lead to single digits after a layup from Emily Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee), but UMSL stormed right back with another 7-2 spree to take a 14-point lead into the final quarter.

The Bearcats came out firing in the fourth as an and-one play from freshman guard Madison Hart (Oak Creek, WI/Oak Creek) got a 12-0 run from McKendree rolling as six different Bearcats added points for McKendree to slash the Tritons lead to 49-47 with 5:58 to play. UMSL bounced the lead back to seven points before a jumper from Emily Pusheck (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) and a layup from Heberg brought the Bearcats within one possession at 56-53. The Tritons stretched their advantage to eight points with 58 seconds remaining and McKendree was unable to make up the ground down the stretch falling by five.