(ST. LOUIS, Mo., Jan. 13)—The McKendree women's basketball team was defeated in Great Lakes Valley Conference play Saturday afternoon at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, 63-55.
 
The Bearcats built a 10-point lead in the later stages of the third quarter, but the host Tritons used a 24-3 run that bridged the third and fourth periods to pull away for the victory. McKendree is now 6-7 on the year and 2-4 in conference action. The Bearcats will head north Monday evening for a GLVC contest at the University of Illinois Springfield. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
 
Sophomore guard Jordan Heberg scored 11 of her team-high 15 points in the second half to pace McKendree. Freshman guard Sydney Diekhoff added 11 points in a reserve role, while junior forward Jordan Morton chipped in with eight points and a team-best 11 rebounds for the Bearcats. Senior forward Shauniera Wilson (Springfield, Ill./Southeast) registered a game-high four blocked shots as well.
 
The third quarter proved to be pivotal for both teams on Saturday. After edging out to a 23-22 lead at the half, McKendree used a 9-2 run to take its largest lead of the afternoon at 40-30 with 3:48 remaining in the period. Heberg had six of the nine points during the burst for the Bearcats, which she capped with a driving lay-up to give McKendree its lone double-digit lead of the day.
 
UMSL (8-5, 2-4 GLVC) countered by scoring the final 12 points of the period to regain a 42-40 advantage. The Tritons then scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to extend its run to 14 consecutive points. Missouri-St. Louis then scored 10 of the next 13 points to push its margin to 54-43 with 4:27 to play. McKendree had just one field goal over that nine-minute stretch, a jumper by Heberg with 8:08 on the clock.
 
McKendree made one final push at UMSL, trimming the deficit to 58-53 on a driving lay-up by freshman guard Callie Pohlman with 1:16 on the clock. The Tritons were able to clinch the victory at the line in the closing seconds, hitting 5-of-6 free throw tries over the last 48 seconds.
 
In the first quarter, UMSL raced to a 10-2 lead before McKendree began to chip away. The Bearcats ripped off six straight points to rally within 10-8 with 4:37 left in the period. The Tritons maintained a slight lead until McKendree scored the final five points of the quarter, including a three-pointer from Diekhoff with just 15 seconds on the clock, to give the Bearcats a 15-14 advantage after 10 minutes of play. Each team scored just eight points in the second quarter as McKendree held UMSL to just 20 percent shooting from the floor in the period. Diekhoff came to the Bearcats' rescue once again in the closing seconds as her lay-up with 26 seconds remaining gave the visitors a 23-22 lead at the break.
 
Jordan Fletcher scored a game-high 17 points – including 12 in the second half – to lead UMSL. Alex LaPorta came off the bench to record a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds to go along with a game-high three steals, while Kaitlynn Henning added 14 points and seven steals for the Tritons.
 
McKendree and UMSL will meet one more time this season on Feb. 15 at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon.