(QUINCY, Ill., Jan. 24)—The McKendree University women's basketball team turned in one of its most impressive efforts of the 2018-19 season in rolling past host Quincy University Thursday evening, 60-44.
 
The Bearcats held the Hawks to just 27.1 percent shooting for the contest (16-of-59), including a 16.7 percent clip in the first half. In turn, McKendree closed out the first half on a 16-0 run to take a 28-12 lead at the intermission that it would not relinquish.
 
McKendree improves to 10-7 overall and is now 4-4 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. The Bearcats will head to Kirksville, Mo., for a Saturday afternoon contest at Truman State University. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.
 
Junior guard Jordan Heberg (Romeoville, IL/Plainfield North) paced a balanced offensive attack for McKendree with 14 points while chipping in with seven rebounds. Junior forward Megan Jensen (Union, MO/Saint Francis Borgia Regional) helped out with 13 points and six rebounds. Senior forward Jordan Morton (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South) recorded 12 points and team-high totals of eight rebounds and four assists in the win for the Bearcats.
 
In the first quarter, the teams traded leads before McKendree ripped off six straight points to take a 10-5 advantage with 1:56 left in the period. Morton started the run before Jensen finished it off on a driving lay-up. The Bearcats maintained a 12-7 lead after 10 minutes of play and limited Quincy to just 21.4 percent shooting from the floor in that span (3-of-14).
 
The Hawks netted the first five points of the second quarter to pull even at 12-12 with exactly eight minutes left until halftime. At that point, McKendree took control at both ends of the floor. The Bearcats put together their game-changing 16-0 spurt, beginning with an 18-foot jumper from freshman guard Jenna Krause (Seymour, WI/Seymour) at the 6:05 mark. Junior forward Shayli Florine (Galesburg, IL/Galesburg) gave McKendree its first double-digit lead of the night at 22-12 when she grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with 2:17 left until the intermission.
 
Heberg then scored the final six points of the half, first on a three-pointer from the corner with 25 seconds on the clock and then – following a Quincy turnover – she sank three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt with one second remaining. The trio of foul shots sent the Bearcats into the locker room with a 28-12 cushion.
 
During its 16-0 run, McKendree forced the Hawks to miss their final 12 field goal attempts of the period and also produced a pair of turnovers. The Bearcats held Quincy to just 16.7 percent from the field (5-of-30) in the first half.
 
The teams played even throughout the second half, although McKendree built its biggest lead of the night at 40-15 on a lay-up from junior guard Madison Hart (Oak Creek, WI/Oak Creek) with 5:56 remaining in the third quarter.
 
 For the contest, McKendree held a 42-35 edge in rebounding, and also outscored Quincy in the paint by a margin of 32-8.
 
Kennedy Prince came off the bench to score a team-leading 12 points for Quincy (5-13, 3-6 GLVC). Michaela Gronewold pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds for the Hawks. McKendree has now won three consecutive games against Quincy dating back to last season.