QUINCY, Ill. - For the second straight day, the McKendree University women's basketball team led 16-12 after the first quarter and held a seven point lead just 40 seconds into the second quarter before being held to a total of 13 points over the final 31 minutes of the game in suffering a 72-32 defeat to Ferris State in its final game of the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home Classic held at Pepsi Arena on the Quincy University campus. 

The Bearcats held a 22-15 lead in Friday's first game of the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home Classic  against Winona State, before the Warriors outscores the Bearcats 55-24 over the final three quarters to post a 70-46 win. 

With the setback, the Bearcats, who currently only have seven healthy players available, fell to 0-4 on the season, while Ferris State improved to 4-1 on the season. The 0-4 start to the season is the first for McKendree since opening the 2014-15 campaign by losing its first five games of the season. 

Sophomore guard Christy Fortune (Appleton, Wis./Appleton West) led the way offensively for the Bearcats as she tied her season high with 14 points and added eight rebounds, including scoring nine of her points in the first 11 minutes of the game. In addition to Fortune's game-high 14 points, redshirt junior guard Kaelyn Froebe (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln) added eight points, including scoring seven of them in the first half. 

For her efforts, Forturne, who averaged 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game and shot 50 percent from the floor and 46 percent from the 3-point line in McKendree's two games this weekend, was named to the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home Classic All-Tournament Team.

The 32 points scored by the Bearcats was its lowest total in a game since being held to 37 points at home against fifth-ranked Bellarmine on Dec. 3, 2016. In that game, the Bearcats fell 50-37 to the Knights. 

In Saturday's game after scoring 16 points in the first quarter, the Bearcats would score just 16 points the rest of the game as they scored four points on one field goal and one free throw in the second quarter, added 10 points on three field goals and three free throws in the third quarter and scored two points on just two free throws in the fourth quarter as the Bearcats were held without a made field goal in the final period as they were 0-for-10 from the field and 0-for-5 from the 3-point line in the quarter. 

Ferris State would score 16 or more points over the final three quarters of the game as they scored 19 second quarter points to hold a 31-20 lead at the half. In the third quarter, the Bulldogs, who were tabbed to finish second in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason poll, added 25 points in the third quarter and outscored McKendree, 16-2 in the final quarter. 

In Saturday's game, Ferris State scored six of the first 10 points to lead 6-4 just four minutes into the contest, before the Bearcats would use a 12-6 run capped by two consecutive lay-ups by Froebe to hold a 16-12 lead after the first quarter. The run began with a trey from Fortune with 5:04 left in the quarter and was capped by a lay-up from Froebe with 1:16 left in the opening quarter. Froebe and Fortune combined to score 12 of McKendree's 16 points in the quarter.

The Bearcats would open the second quarter with a trey from Fortune just 40 seconds into the quarter to give the Bearcats its largest lead of the game at 19-12. The lead, though, would quickly evaporate as the Bulldogs scored 19 straight points to push out to a 31-19 lead with 2:17 left in the quarter. Froebe would stop the Ferris State run by hitting 1-of-2 free throws with 20 seconds left to cut the Bulldogs lead to 31-20 at the half.

The third quarter belonged to Ferris State as the Bulldogs scored the first seven points of the quarter to push its lead to 38-20. A basket by second-year freshman guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill./Jerseyville Community) with 7:39 left in the quarter put the Bearcats on the board, but Ferris State would eventually push its lead to 26 points at 56-30 heading into the final quarter. 

Breden and Froebe would each make 1-of-2 free throws in the quarter for the Bearcats with Froebe's free throw with 5:15 left in the game being the final points of the game for the Bearcats as they would they miss their final five shots of the game. Ferris State, though, would push its lead to as much as 40 points following a lay-up by Ellie Dykstra with 2:11 left in the game. Dykstra's lay-up would be the final points of the game for either team. 

Kadyn Blanchard and Adrienne Anderson each scored 11 points for the Bulldogs, while Mya Hiram added 10 points. Dykstra and Grace Sullivan each tallied nine points, while Dykstra pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds in the victory. 

For the game, McKendree shot 26 percent from the field, including going 4-for-28 from the field over the final three quarters after shooting 47 percent (7-for-15) from the floor and 50 percent (2-for-4) from the 3-point line in the first quarter. In addition to the 26 percent shooting the field, the Bearcats shot 29 percent (4-for-14) from the 3-point line and was 6-for-10 (60 percent) at the free throw line. 

Ferris State shot 48 percent from the field and 32 percent (6-for-19) from the 3-point line and was 6-for-8 (75 percent) from the free throw line. 

The Bulldogs held a 43-23 edge on the boards, including collecting 13 offensive boards that led to a 15-0 advantage in second chance points. The Bearcats also committed 21 turnovers that led to 27 points for the Bulldogs. 

McKendree will look to rebound this coming Tuesday, Nov. 25 as they host Blackburn College for a 5:30 p.m. non-conference tilt at the Melvin Price Convocation Center.