(FAYETTE, Iowa, Nov. 13)—The McKendree University women's basketball team is off to its best start in eight years following a 61-56 come-from-behind victory Wednesday night at Upper Iowa University.
 
The Bearcats overcame a slow start from the field to rally in its first true road contest of the year. McKendree faced an 11-point deficit in the later stages of the third quarter before clawing back and using a dominant fourth-quarter performance to move to 3-0 on the season. The Bearcats will play their first home game of the 2019-20 season Sunday afternoon when Missouri Southern State University comes to the Harry M. Statham Sports Center for a non-conference game. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
 
McKendree received a pair of double-doubles in Wednesday's win. Senior guard Madison Hart (Oak Creek, WI/Oak Creek) led the way with 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Senior forward Brianna Johnson (Lodi, WI/Beaver Dam) turned in a career-best performance with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore guard Jenna Krause (Seymour, WI/Seymour) also reached double figures in the scoring column for the Bearcats with 15 points, and junior guard Callie Pohlman (Appleton, WI/Appleton North) contributed a game-high four assists. Senior guard Jordan Heberg (Romeoville, IL/Plainfield North) helped out with nine points in the effort.
 
A low-scoring first half saw Upper Iowa (0-3) take a 23-16 lead at the intermission before the Peacocks used a 9-2 run to build their largest lead of the game at 38-27 with 3:08 remaining in the third quarter. McKendree responded by ripping off 10 consecutive points to trim the deficit to 38-37 with 1:11 left in the period. Krause had five points during the burst, including a three-pointer to open the run and a pair of free throws to finish it off. Upper Iowa quickly rebounded by tossing in the last seven points of the quarter to take a 45-37 lead into the final 10 minutes of play.
 
The Bearcats started the fourth quarter by scoring the first seven points to pull within 45-44 with 7:30 on the clock. After the teams traded scores, Johnson hit a pair of free throws to spark a 9-0 spurt that put the Bearcats in front to stay at 55-49 with 2:08 remaining. Upper Iowa battled back to pull within 55-53 before McKendree sealed the victory from the free throw line. Heberg, Johnson and Krause each hit two free throws in the final 16.8 seconds to hold off the Peacocks.
 
In addition to winning the battle on the scoreboard, the Bearcats held a 46-35 edge in rebounding. With the victory, McKendree moves to 3-0 for the first time since 2011-12, and just the second time since the 2006-07 campaign.  
 
Jessica Musgrave led Upper Iowa with 16 points and six rebounds, while Megan Peterson chipped in with 12 points for the Peacocks.