LEBANON, Ill. – Jan. 30) – The McKendree University women's basketball team had a close game with William Jewell Saturday. Even with a fourth-quarter comeback, the Bearcats were defeated 75-80.

McKendree opened up the game with a lot of energy to set the tone for the afternoon. That energy slowly declined as their opponent was able to tie the score and take the lead, off a 9-0 run. The Bearcats struggled to score in the second quarter, only adding on two points. The Bearcats would trail the Cardinals 16-35 heading into halftime. Coming out of the break, McKendree was back to the same energy they started the game with. The Bearcats improved to 57.1 percent form the floor and 77.9 percent from beyond in the third period alone. They would cut their deficit down to 16 heading into the final quarter. The Bearcats would continue to chip away at their deficit, coming within six after a good jumper from Christy Fortune (Appleton, WI/Appleton West) at 6:45. In the final frame, McKendree would add on 35 more points, but fall by five in the end. The Bearcats went 45.8 percent from the floor, 28.6 percent from the arc, and 55.6 percent from the line, in the 75-80 loss.

Kari Kerkhoff's team was led by three players in double-figures. Sydney Diekhoff (Pekin, IL/Pekin Community) recorded 22 points, going 50.0 percent from the paint and 6-fot-7 from the line. Christy Fortune (Appleton, WI/Appleton West) tallied 18 points, going 7-for-13 from field goal range and 4-for-7 from the arc. Jenna Krause (Seymour, WI/Seymour) added 13 points, and was 3-for-8 from the floor.

William Jewell took a couple minutes to get into the groove of the game, before taking an early lead. The Cardinals would take advantage of the Bearcats' mistakes in the second quarter and extend their lead to 19 points going into halftime. They were not expecting McKendree to come out with fire after halftime, but managed to keep ahead with a comfortable lead of 16 going into the final frame. The lead would decrease to single digits halfway through the quarter, but hold on for the win.

William Jewell had two players finish in double-figures. Kiara Bradley led the way for both teams with 28 points, going 50.0 percent from the arc and 9-for-15 from the floor. Claire Burch would add another 20 points, and was 10-for-12 in shooting.

McKendree will be back on the road for their next scheduled contest, traveling to Kansas City, Mo., to face Rockhurst University. The Bearcats and the Hawks will take the court on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 5:30 PM in the Mason-Halpin Field House.