(SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Jan. 5)--The McKendree University women's basketball team had a two-game win streak snapped Saturday afternoon with an 84-73 loss at the University of Illinois Springfield.
 
The visiting Bearcats trimmed a 13-point first-half deficit to just a single point late in the third quarter, but the Prairie Stars used a strong fourth quarter shooting performance to pull away for the victory. McKendree is now 8-4 overall and suffered its first Great Lakes Valley Conference loss of the year, moving to 2-1 in league play. The Bearcats will return to Lebanon to open a four-game home stand Thursday evening against Maryville University. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
 
Sydney Diekhoff (Pekin, IL/Pekin Community) registered a team-leading 24 points for McKendree, adding four rebounds and four assists in the effort. Junior forward Megan Jensen (Union, MO/Saint Francis Borgia Regional) chipped in with 15 points, while junior guard Jordan Heberg (Romeoville, IL/Plainfield North) helped out with 12 points. Senior forward Jordan Morton (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South) posted a double-double for the Bearcats with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Morton also had a team-high four steals.
 
Illinois Springfield (4-7, 1-2 GLVC) raced to an 11-2 lead in the first 2:29 of play. Following a timeout, McKendree responded by reeling off nine straight points to pull even at 11-11 with 4:48 left in the first quarter. Diekhoff had five points during the burst for the Bearcats. The Prairie Stars then put together another run of its own, scoring the next six points for a 17-11 cushion before taking an 18-15 lead after 10 minutes of play. UIS took its first double-digit lead of the contest at 37-27 with just over four minutes left in the half.
 
McKendree chipped the margin down to eight points and threatened to trim the deficit even further just before the half ended. However, following a missed shot by the Bearcats, Illinois Springfield's Jasmine Sangster launched a 40-foot heave just before buzzer sounded. The shot was good, giving the Prairie Stars a 42-31 lead heading into the locker room.
 
In the third quarter, McKendree controlled most of the action, shooting 66.7 percent from the floor (10-of-15) while limiting UIS to just 30.8 percent (4-of-13) on the defensive end. After the Prairie Stars stretched their lead to 13 points in the opening moments of the period, the Bearcats fought back. McKendree put together a 12-2 run to slash the UIS lead to 54-53 with 53 seconds remaining in the quarter as Diekhoff (eight points) and Morton (four points) scored every point during the spurt. But UIS countered with a rare four-point play on its next possession to take a 58-53 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
The Prairie Stars then held off the Bearcats by hitting their free throws down the stretch. UIS went 16-of-20 from the foul line (16-of-20) over the final 10 minutes to register the win and end their two-game winless streak. Sangster dropped in a career-high 33 points to lead all scorers in the contest, while Lauren Ladowski added 12 points and six assists for UIS.
 
McKendree and Illinois Springfield will meet again on Saturday, Feb. 23 in Lebanon.