(SOMERS, Wis., Jan. 4)—The McKendree University women's basketball team saw its three-game win streak come to an end Thursday evening with an 83-77 loss in Great Lakes Valley Conference play at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
 
Sophomore forward Shayli Florine poured in a career-high 20 points to lead four Bearcats scoring in double figures. McKendree moves to 4-6 overall and 0-3 in GLVC action. The Bearcats will return to the Harry M. Statham Sports Center Saturday afternoon to play host to the University of Illinois Springfield. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
 
Sophomore guard Jordan Heberg chipped in with 14 points, while junior forward Jordan Morton registered 12 points and a team-leading eight rebounds for McKendree. Heberg also handed out four assists in the effort. Freshman guard Sydney Diekoff also notched double figures for the Bearcats with 11 points.
 
Wisconsin-Parkside (6-9, 2-1 GLVC) shot 55 percent from three-point range in Thursday's contest, sinking 11-of-20 tries from beyond the arc. In contrast, McKendree was just 2-of-19 in three-point shooting. The Rangers hit a pair of trifectas during an 8-2 run to break an early tie to take a 12-6 lead with 5:21 left in the first quarter. UW-Parkside was able to stretch the margin to eight points before a pair of free throws from Diekhoff with 34 seconds on the clock helped the Bearcats pull within 19-13 after 10 minutes of play.
 
In the second quarter, UW-Parkside pushed the lead to double figures before McKendree ripped off seven consecutive points to rally within 33-28 with just over two minutes remaining until halftime. The host Rangers then dialed long distance once again with two more three-points to fuel a 9-2 burst as UW-Parkside grabbed a 42-33 advantage at the break.
 
The hosts maintained a nine-point lead after the third quarter when the Rangers looked to take control. UW-Parkside took its largest lead of the contest, 68-54, midway through the final period. At that point, McKendree put together one final run. Florine scored seven consecutive points to help the Bearcats get within 68-61. McKendree continued to chip away at the deficit and used a jumper from Heberg with 38 seconds remaining to slash the margin to 78-74. However, that was as close as McKendree would get as the Rangers hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the win.
 
Ali Bettencourt led all scorers with 26 points for UW-Parkside. Lucija Bilic helped out with 15 points while Georgie Eishold pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for the Rangers.