(ST. LOUIS, Mo., Feb. 17)—The McKendree University women's basketball team collected an important Great Lakes Valley Conference victory Saturday afternoon with a 67-56 triumph at Maryville University.
The Bearcats shot nearly 54 percent from the field in outscoring the host Saints 17-8 in the second quarter to help fuel the road win. For the game, McKendree made 18-of-19 attempts from the free throw line, including all 10 tries in the fourth quarter. McKendree also held a 35-26 edge in rebounding and posted a 20-13 edge in bench scoring to end a four-game winless streak.
With the win, McKendree improves to 10-13 on the season and 6-10 in GLVC play. More importantly, the Bearcats moved back into the No. 9 spot in the league's Point Ranking System that will determine the eight teams to reach the GLVC Tournament March 1-4 in Edwardsville, Ill. McKendree enters the final week of regular season play just .09 out of the No. 8 position in the ranking. The Bearcats will head to Rolla, Mo., on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. game at Missouri S&T.
Making her first collegiate start on Saturday at Maryville, freshman guard Sydney Diekhoff led McKendree with 19 points. Sophomore guard Jordan Heberg chipped in with 16 points and a game-high five assists. Sophomore forwards Megan Jensen and Shayli Florine shared team-high rebounding honors with six as junior forward Jordan Morton produced a game-best three steals for the Bearcats.
Maryville (7-15, 4-12 GLVC) led in the opening moments before McKendree rattled off 11 consecutive points to take the lead for good, 15-7, with 3:28 left in the first quarter. The Bearcats held the Saints without a for more than four minutes as Florine scored four points during the burst and Diekhoff capped it with a three-pointer. Maryville battled back and closed the period on a 9-2 run to pull within 17-16 after 10 minutes of action. Both teams shot 50 percent in the first quarter, but McKendree forced seven turnovers by the Saints.
The contest remained close for the balance of the second quarter before McKendree began to pull away from the Saints just before halftime. Sophomore guard Madison Hart went 6-for-6 from the foul line over the final 3:34 of the period as the Bearcats scored nine of the final 11 points to take a 34-24 lead into the locker room.
McKendree scored the first eight points of the second half to build its largest advantage of the contest, 42-24, with 7:07 remaining in the third quarter. Heberg started the half with a three-pointer before Diekhoff scored on a lay-up and 22-foot jumper on consecutive possessions to force a timeout from Maryville. At that point, the Saints began to claw their way back into contention and rallied within 51-41 heading into the fourth quarter.
Maryville got as close as seven points early in the fourth quarter before Jensen scored the final four points in a 6-0 run that enabled the Bearcats to regain a 59-46 lead midway through the period. McKendree maintained its double-digit lead down the stretch thanks to its success at the free throw line, hitting eight straight attempts in the last minute of play.
Saturday's win allowed McKendree to complete a two-game season sweep of Maryville. The Bearcats rallied in the fourth quarter of the first meeting between the two squads back on Jan. 11 in Lebanon to notch a 63-57 victory.
Ali Ringering came off the bench to lead Maryville with 13 points. Ellen Foster registered a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Saints, while Mary Barton and Kayla Steward each netted 11 points against the Bearcats.
