(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 15)—The McKendree University women's basketball team was defeated in its final home game of the 2017-18 season Thursday evening by the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
 
The visiting Tritons shot 62.5 percent in the second quarter to build a 19-point lead at half in completing the season sweep of the Bearcats. McKendree is now 9-13 overall and 5-10 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Bearcats will be on the road for its final three games of the regular season, beginning with a Saturday afternoon contest at Maryville University. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.
 
Freshman guard Sydney Diekhoff came off the bench to lead McKendree with 17 points. Sophomore guard Jordan Heberg netted 13 points, while sophomore guard Madison Hart finished with eight points. Freshman guard Callie Pohlman handed out a team-best five assists, and senior forward Shauniera Wilson (Springfield, Ill./Southeast) swatted away a game-high five blocked shots for the Bearcats.
 
Missouri-St. Louis (17-5, 11-4 GLVC) grabbed an early lead before a three-pointer from Diekhoff helped McKendree get within 15-7 after one quarter of play. After a lay-up by sophomore forward Shayli Florine enabled the Bearcats to cut the deficit to six points on the first possession of the second quarter, the Tritons reeled off 13 consecutive points to stretch the margin to 28-9 with 4:26 left in the half. UMSL was able to push its advantage to as many as 22 points before McKendree pulled within 38-19 at the intermission.
 
In the third quarter, the Tritons added on to their lead before McKendree battled back. The Bearcats used a 14-3 run to pull within 55-29 with 1:26 left in the period. McKendree was able to hold UMSL without a field goal during a span that lasted more than three minutes.
 
Five different players scored in double figures for Missouri-St. Louis, led by Jordan Fletcher with a game-high 20 points. Sammie Sproul and Kaitlynn Henning each chipped in with 13 points while Alex LaPorta registered a double-double with 10 opints and a game-high 11 rebounds. The Tritons held a 41-30 edge on the boards against McKendree, and pushed its season-high win streak to 10 games in the process.
 
Back on Jan. 13 in St. Louis, UMSL overcame a 10-point McKendree lead in the third quarter to collect a 63-55 triumph in the first 2017-18 meeting between the two squads.