(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 18)—The McKendree women's basketball team continued its strong play of late by battling its way to a 55-44 victory Thursday night at home against Quincy University.
 
The Bearcats matched a season-best by allowing the visiting Hawks just 44 points to earn its seventh victory in nine outings. McKendree jumps above the .500 mark at 8-7 while moving to 4-4 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. The Bearcats will have a week off before its next game at home against William Jewell College on Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m.
 
McKendree limited Quincy to 15 first-half points on just 29.2 percent shooting (7-of-24), including just four points in the second quarter. In addition, the Bearcats forced 19 turnovers by the Hawks, turning them into 20 points on the offensive end of the floor.
 
Sophomore guards Madison Hart and Jordan Heberg led a balanced offensive effort for McKendree with 12 points, while freshman guard Sydney Diekhoff came off the bench to post 11 points. Freshman guard Callie Pohlman contributed at both ends of the floor for the Bearcats with eight points to go along with a game-high nine rebounds. Pohlman also had three assists and a pair of steals in the win.
 
In the first quarter, McKendree raced to a 9-0 lead, hitting four of its first five shots from the floor. In turn, the Bearcats forced six consecutive turnovers by Quincy in building an early advantage. A lay-up by Heberg midway through the period pushed the McKendree lead to 13-3. Later in the quarter, Diekhoff capped an 8-2 run with a three-pointer from the wing to give the Bearcats a 21-7 cushion with 52 seconds remaining in the opening quarter. McKendree shot 53.3 percent in the first 10 minutes in holding a 21-11 advantage.
 
Points were hard to come by for both teams in the second quarter as McKendree and Quincy cominbed to post 12 points in the period. The Hawks were able to claw within 23-15 after a basket by Julia Ruzevich with exactly six minutes on the clock. However, McKendree turned up the defensive pressure once again and held Quincy off the scoreboard the remainder of the half. The Bearcats forced four more turnovers as the visitors also missed four shots from the field. In turn, McKendree netted the final six points in the period, including a jumper by Hart with 31 seconds on the clock, to send the Bearcats into the locker room with a 29-15 lead.
 
McKendree scored the first basket of the second half to take its largest lead of the contest, 31-15, before Quincy began to chip away at the deficit. The Hawks reeled off nine unanswered points to pull within 31-24 with 6:20 remaining in the third period. The Bearcats were able to stretch the margin back to double digits before holding a 37-28 lead heading into the final period.
 
Quincy continued to chip away at the McKendree lead, getting as close as 49-44 with just under a minute to play. Hart and Heberg combined to put the game away at the free throw line for the Bearcats, going 6-for-6 from the stripe over the last 51.7 seconds on the clock. McKendree, which went 15-of-17 from the foul line in the game (88.2 percent), made 11-of-13 tries in the fourth quarter.
 
Anika Webster led Quincy (6-11, 2-6 GLVC) with 13 points, while Ruzevich collected a team-best six rebounds for the Hawks. McKendree and Quincy will meet again in the regular-season finale for both teams on Feb. 24 in Quincy, Ill.