(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill., March 8)—The McKendree University women's basketball team gave top-ranked and top-seeded Drury University all it could handle Friday night in the Bearcats' 87-79 loss to the Panthers in the quarterfinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Friday night at the Vadalabene Center.
 
 Sophomore guard Sydney Diekhoff (Pekin, IL/Pekin Community) poured in a career-high 38 points and finished one point shy of the Bearcats' single-game scoring record as McKendree closed out its season with an overall record of 13-15. The Bearcats were making their third appearance in the GLVC Tournament in the last four years.
 
"We just came out with the mentality that it was going to be us together, and we were going to work hard as a team and finish out the year strong," said McKendree head coach Kari Kerkhoff. "I am super proud of the way they performed and battled and took the top team in the country down to the wire. We talked about giving that kind of effort all year long, and we know this is something positive to take into the off-season."
 
Freshman guard Jenna Krause (Seymour, WI/Seymour) also reached double figures in the scoring column against Drury with 13 points, while junior guard Madison Hart (Oak Creek, WI/Oak Creek) pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for the Bearcats. Junior forward Shayli Florine (Galesburg, IL/Galesburg) came off the bench to contribute nine points and six rebounds in the contest for McKendree.
 
Diekhoff scored 20 of her 38 points after halftime as McKendree whittled a 22-point deficit down to just five points in the final 20 seconds of play. Diekhoff made 11-of-18 shots from the field, including five three-pointers while going 11-of-13 from the free throw line against Drury. Her performance marked the second-highest single-game scoring output for a McKendree player in program history, topped only by 39-point efforts Lori Backhaus against Rosary in 1992 and Nancy Wild versus Mundelein in 1990.
 
With her five three-point field goals, Diekhoff jumped into ninth place on McKendree's career list for trifectas. She now has 107 in her career, passing teammate Jordan Heberg (Romeoville, IL/Plainfield North) and former Bearcat Liz Gilman (St. Louis, Mo./Principia) to move into the top 10.
 
Drury (29-0) led by as many as 24 points midway through the third quarter before McKendree started to chip away at the deficit in the early stages of the fourth period. The Bearcats scored the first eight points of the quarter to trim the deficit to 70-59 with 8:01 remaining. Diekhoff had four points during the burst, which was capped by a jumper from Krause. The Panthers regained their footing and manage to extend the lead back to 16 points on two different occasions midway through the period before McKendree put together a furious rally down the stretch.
 
A three-pointer from Diekhoff followed by a lay-up and free throw from Krause fueled a 6-0 run that brought McKendree within single digits at 82-73 with 2:24 remaining. After a lay-up from Drury extended its lead back to 11, Krause and Diekhoff combined to go 4-for-4 from the free throw line to rally the Bearcats within 84-77 with 34.4 seconds on the clock. The Panthers then missed two free throws before junior forward Megan Jensen (Union, MO/Saint Francis Borgia Regional) was fouled after an offensive rebound. Jensed sank both attempts from the stripe to bring McKendree within 84-79 with 16.1 seconds to go.
 
But Drury knocked down a free throw to regain a six-point cushion and sealed the contest from the line as Hailey Diestelkamp hit two foul shots in the closing seconds to enable the Panthers to escape with the victory.
 
In the first quarter, Drury threatened to pull away in the later stages of the period, building a 16-9 lead before McKendree rallied back. The Bearcats outscored the Panthers 7-2 over the final 2:25 to slash the deficit to 18-16 after 10 minutes of play. Drury slowly increased its advantage throughout the second quarter before ending the half on a 22-5 run to take a 51-29 lead into the locker room.
 
Senior forward Jordan Morton (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South), playing in her final game in a McKendree uniform, grabbed two rebounds in the contest. Morton closed her four years with the Bearcats by pulling down 673 career rebounds, which is good for eighth in program history.
 
"I couldn't ask anything more than what Jordan has given us for four years," said Kerkhoff. "We didn't know each other when I first arrived but we gave her our expectations and she has been an integral part of our success."
 
Diestelkamp paced Drury with 29 points, nine rebounds and six steals, while Payton Richards added 19 points and five steals. The Bearcats held a 43-33 edge in rebounding against Drury in Friday's contest.