(QUINCY, Ill., Feb. 24)—The McKendree University women's basketball team saved its best for last in collecting an 82-73 victory Saturday afternoon at Quincy University in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Junior forward Jordan Morton scored four consecutive baskets late in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead score with 4:15 left, to break a 67-67 tie and put the Bearcats in front to stay. McKendree then made seven straight free throws in the closing moments to seal the Great Lakes Valley Conference win. McKendree wraps up its regular-season slate with an overall record of 12-13. The Bearcats moved to 8-10 in GLVC play, and will now await the results of the remaining GLVC games to be played on Saturday to see if they have earned a spot in the eight-team field for the conference tournament. The 2018 GLVC Tournament will be contested March 1-4 at the Vadalabene Center on the campus of SIUE in Edwardsville, Ill.
Morton and sophomore guard Jordan Heberg shared team-high scoring honors with 14 points each, while freshman guard Sydney Diekhoff chipped in with 13 points. Senior guard
Abby Smith (Romeoville, Ill./Romeoville) came off the bench to add nine points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Bearcats. All nine players who saw action for McKendree scored against Quincy.
McKendree led 63-61 heading into the fourth quarter, but Quincy (8-19, 4-14 GLVC) scored the first four points of the period to grab a 65-63 advantage with 7:51 remaining. Smith scored on the Bearcats' next possession to even the contest once again. Morton put McKendree back in front briefly to start her key scoring burst when the Hawks' Annika Webster made a lay-up with 7:07 on the clock to knot the score one final time at 67-67.
Neither team could find the basket for nearly three minutes when Morton connected on a jumper to push the Bearcats out to a 69-67 lead. Morton then converted a lay-up on the next trip down the floor for McKendree, and capped her run with another jumper after a Quincy turnover to extend the Bearcats' advantage to 73-67. Sophomore forward Megan Jensen put the finishing touches on a 12-2 run thanks to a lay-up with 2:26 to play, giving McKendree a 75-67 cushion.
Down the stretch, Quincy was forced to foul, and McKendree hit seven straight shots from the foul line to pull away for the win. The Bearcats made 16-of-22 free throws in the second half and were 19-of-27 for the game from the stripe.
Defense dominated the first meeting between the two teams this season – a 55-44 McKendree victory back on Jan. 18 at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center – but on Saturday the Bearcats and Hawks put on an offensive display in the first half. McKendree held the early advantage before Quincy used an 8-3 burst to grab a 16-13 lead midway through the first quarter. The Hawks slowly increased the margin over the closing minutes and held a 27-21 advantage after 10 minutes of play. McKendree shot 56.3 percent from the floor in the quarter (9-of-16), while Quincy was close behind at 55 percent (11-of-20).
A three-pointer from Smith fueled a 7-0 run to start the second quarter as McKendree surged back in front at 28-27. The teams continued to trade baskets and leads until the Bearcats took the lead late in the first half. McKendree scored nine of 11 points over an 84-second stretch to regain the lead at 44-39 with 2:09 left until intermission. Four different players scored during the stretch for the Bearcats, which was capped by a lay-up and free throw from freshman guard Callie Pohlman.
McKendree connected on 58.8 percent of its field goal tries in the second period (10-of-17) in holding a 44-41 lead at the intermission. The Bearcats shot 57.6 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes of action and held a 17-13 edge in rebounding. For the game, McKendree outrebounded Quincy by a 35-28 margin. The Bearcats also forced 24 turnovers by the Hawks on Saturday.
Webster poured in a game-high 22 points to lead the way for Quincy. Julia Ruzevich added 16 points, five rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals for the Hawks.
