(LOUISVILLE, Ky., Feb. 16)—The McKendree University women's basketball team could not hold off a fourth-quarter comeback from Bellarmine University as the Knights rallied to post a 60-53 win in Great Lakes Valley Conference action Saturday afternoon.
 
The Bearcats led by 10 points in the early stages of the fourth quarter, but Bellarmine shot 71.4 percent (10-of-14) over the final 10 minutes to grab the first meeting between the two teams this season. McKendree slips to 12-12 on the year and stands at 6-9 in GLVC play. The Bearcats will return home for their final three games of the 2018-19 regular season, beginning with a match-up next Saturday (Feb. 23) against the University of Illinois Springfield. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. in Lebanon.
 
Junior forward Shayli Florine (Galesburg, IL/Galesburg) came off the bench to lead McKendree with 13 points, adding six rebounds in the effort. Sophomore guard Sydney Diekhoff (Pekin, IL/Pekin Community) added 12 points, while senior forward Jordan Morton (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South) pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds for the Bearcats. Sophomore guard Callie Pohlman (Appleton, WI/Appleton North) handed out a game-high four assists as well.
 
In the contest, McKendree held a 42-33 edge in rebounding and also outscored Bellarmine 14-9 in second-chance points. However, the Knights converted all 11 fast-break points on the day. Bellarmine also posted a 31-18 advantage in bench scoring against the Bearcats.
 
McKendree hit its first three shots on the day and built an early lead before Bellarmine scored six straight points to take their first lead of the day at 8-7. The Knights used another 6-0 run in the closing moments of the first quarter to take a 14-11 advantage before junior forward Megan Jensen (Union, MO/Saint Francis Borgia Regional) scored on a lay-up just before the buzzer to pull within 14-13 after 10 minutes of play.
 
In the second quarter, Bellarmine stretched its lead back to four points when McKendree rattled off nine straight points to grab a 22-17 lead with 3:21 left until halftime. The Bearcats held the Knights scoreless for more than five minutes during the stretch, which was capped by a three-pointer from freshman guard Jenna Krause (Seymour, WI/Seymour).
 
The teams were tied 24-24 at the intermission before McKendree began to take control in the third quarter. The Bearcats hit 6-of-11 shots in the period to shoot 54.5 percent. McKendree again turned up the defensive pressure, limiting Bellarmine without a field goal for just under five minutes while scoring seven of eight points to stretch its advantage to 33-27 at the 5:40 mark. The Bearcats slowly increased their lead over the closing moments of the period, and junior guard Jordan Heberg (Romeoville, IL/Plainfield North) drilled a three-pointer on the final shot of the quarter push the margin to 43-34.
 
Florine hit a lay-up with 8:45 remaining to give McKendree its largest lead of the afternoon at 46-36. At that point, Bellarmine began its comeback. An 11-1 run enabled the Knights to slash the Bearcats' lead to 48-47 with 4:49 left. Diekhoff hit a three-pointer on McKendree's next possession to push the margin back to four points before Bellarmine took the lead for good by netting the next 11 points for a 58-51 lead inside the final minute of play.
 
Bailee Harney scored a team-best 12 points off the bench for Bellarmine (13-9, 7-7 GLVC), while Mikayla Berry chipped in with 11 points and a game-high four steals in a reserve role for the Knights.
 
McKendree and Bellarmine will meet one more time this season on Thursday, Feb. 28 at the Statham Center in Lebanon.