(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 28)--The McKendree University women's basketball team was defeated at home by Bellarmine University in Great Lakes Valley Conference play Thursday at the Statham Center, 69-53.
 
The visiting Knights shot nearly 54 percent in the first half to build a six-point lead and never looked back in completing the season sweep of McKendree. The Bearcats move to 13-13 on the year and 7-10 in conference play. McKendree, which currently holds the No. 8 spot in the GLVC Point Ranking System, will wrap up its regular-season schedule Saturday at home against the University of Southern Indiana. Tip-off for the Senior Day contest is set for 1 p.m.
     
Sophomore guard Sydney Diekhoff (Pekin, IL/Pekin Community) was the lone McKendree player to reach double figures in the scoring column as she netted a game-high 14 points. Diekhoff also added five rebounds along with three assists. Senior forward Jordan Morton (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South) – who will be honored in Saturday's pre-game ceremony – added nine points and three rebounds. Junior guard Madison Hart (Oak Creek, WI/Oak Creek) and freshman guard Jenna Krause (Seymour, WI/Seymour) each contributed eight points as Hart posted a game-high three steals for the Bearcats.
 
Bellarmine (15-10, 9-8 GLVC) raced to a 9-3 lead before McKendree chipped away at the deficit and pulled within 14-12 on a three-pointer from Diekhoff with 3:05 remaining in the first quarter. The Knights added a basket with just under a minute left in the period before Bailee Harney hit a lay-up just before the buzzer sounded to give the visitors an 18-12 advantage heading into the second quarter.
 
After the Knights hit a three-pointer in the early stages of the second period, McKendree battled back once again. A three-pointer by Krause capped a 7-2 run that helped trim the Knights' lead back to 24-22 with 3:27 remaining before the intermission. Krause hit another trifecta that kept the Bearcats within striking distance before Bellarmine extended its lead to 30-25 heading into the locker room.
 
A 13-1 run to open the second half gave Bellarmine its largest lead of the contest at 43-26 midway through the third quarter. McKendree answered with the next seven points to shave its deficit down to 43-33 at the 3:15 mark of the period, but a 7-0 burst by the Knights quickly extended the margin back to 17 points. After trailing 51-37 entering the fourth quarter, the Bearcats whittled the Bellarmine lead down to nine points on two different occasions in the period before the Knights were able to pull away for the win.
 
Katie Downey led a balanced attack for Bellarmine with 12 points, while Briea Torrens chipped in with 11 points. Four different players pulled down a team-best five rebounds for the Knights, who defeated McKendree 60-53 just 12 days earlier on Feb. 16 in Louisville, Ky.