GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE vs. DRURY -- Thursday, March 1, 2018, 6 p.m.
Vadalabene Center -- Edwardsville, Ill.

2018 GLVC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
TOURNAMENT BRACKET
2017-18 GLVC WOMEN'S STATISTICS
GLVCSN
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
DRURY SEASON STATISTICS

(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 27)--The McKendree University women's basketball team will be one of eight teams in action Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the 2018 Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. The Bearcats will meet Drury University Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Vadalabene Center on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in nearby Edwardsville, Ill. 

McKendree made a final charge last week to move into the No. 8 spot in the final GLVC Point Ranking System, which was instituted earlier in the fall to determine the eight teams to qualify for the conference tournament. The Bearcats sat in the No. 9 spot entering their final two games of the regular season, but posted key victories on the road at Missouri S&T and at Quincy University to make its case. McKendree also benefitted from a Missouri S&T victory at Rockhurst University on the final day of regular-season play on Saturday to finish in the No. 8 spot. The Bearcats wrapped up its 18-game league slate with an overall ranking of 2.78 points, which was just ahead of Rockhurst's 2.67 for eighth overall. 

Thanks to a three-game win streak to close out the regular season, McKendree enters the post-season with an overall record of 12-13. The Bearcats went 8-10 against league opponents. McKendree is making its second GLVC Tournament appearance in three seasons under the direction of head coach Kari Kerkhoff. The Bearcats also qualified for the 2015-16 league tournament, and hosted an opening-round game in what was then a 12-team playoff format. 

Jordan Heberg, who earned second-team All-GLVC honors on Tuesday, leads McKendree in scoring this season at 12.4 points per game. Heberg is also the Bearcats' top free throw shooter at 82 percent. She is joined by Sydney Diekhoff, who is posting 12 points per outing. Diekhoff has drained a team-high 51 three-point field goals entering the GLVC Tournament. Callie Pohlman paces the McKendree squad with 74 assists and 41 steals. Jordan Morton is currently ninth in the league in rebounding, averaging 5.8 RPG. Shauniera Wilson (Springfield, Ill./Southeast) is second in the league in blocks per game. Wilson has swatted away 35 shots to average 1.4 BPG. 

The winner of Thursday's McKendree/Drury contest will advance to the GLVC Tournament semifinals on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. to face either the No. 4 seed from the University of Southern Indiana or fifth-seeded Bellarmine University. The 2018 GLVC Tournament women's championship contest is slated for 1 p.m. on Sunday. 

ABOUT DRURY
The Panthers moved up to No. 3 in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II poll released on Tuesday. Drury claimed the overall top seed in the GLVC Tournament with its rating of 4.58 in the GLVC PRS. The Panthers are 26-2 overall and went 17-1 in GLVC competition in 2017-18. Drury brings an 11-game win streak into Thursday's meeting with McKendree.

Head coach Molly Miller, now in her fourth season at Drury, has four players averaging in double figures this season. Alice Heinzler leads the attack for the Panthers at 15.3 points per game. Heinzler is second in the conference in free throw percentage at 90.1 percent. Hailey Diestelkamp is second in scoring on the team at 13.9 PPG, while she leads Drury in rebounding at 8.2 RPG. Diestelkamp is fifth in the league in rebounding and is third in the GLVC in steals per game at 2.3. Heather Harman (12.2 PPG) and Lucia Fernandez (10.6 PPG) also average in double figures for the Panthers. 

McKendree and Drury met in the Bearcats' GLVC opener back on Dec. 2 in Springfield, Mo. The Panthers raced to a 28-13 lead after one quarter of play and never looked back to post a 75-57 win over McKendree. Sydney Diekhoff came off the bench to lead the Bearcats with 15 points, while Megan Jensen added 13 points in a reserve role. Shauniera Wilson and Jordan Morton each pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds, while Abby Smith (Romeoville, Ill./Romeoville) dished out a game-high six assists in the contest. Hailey Diestelkamp showed the way for Drury with 16 points as Lucia Fernandez registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.