LEBANON, Ill. – The McKendree University women's basketball team will begin a stretch of three games in six days on Monday, Nov. 29 as they travel to Springfield, Ill., for a 5:30 p.m. Great Lakes Valley Conference contest against the University of Illinois-Springfield at the TRAC on the UIS campus.
 
Monday's game will mark the first of 20 games in GLVC play this season for the Bearcats and also the first of three league games in six days for McKendree as following Monday's game, the Bearcats will play a 5:15 p.m. game on Thursday, Dec. 2 at Maryville and then host Lewis University for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday, Dec. 4 at the Melvin Price Convocation Center.
 
McKendree enters Monday's GLVC opener sporting a 1-4 after snapping a six game losing skid that had dated to last season with a 90-71 home win this past Tuesday over Blackburn College. The win was the first for the Bearcats since picking up a 71-68 win at home over UIS on Feb. 16, 2021.
 
In the win over Blackburn, the Bearcats scored a season high 90 points and hit a season high 12 3-pointers. The 90 points are the most points scored by the Bearcats in a game since tallying 104 points against Davis & Elkins on Dec. 21, 2013. In fact, the 90 points are the most points scored in a game in the current tenure of McKendree head coach Kari Kerkhoff (2015-present).
 
Prior to the win over Blackburn, McKendree had opened the season 0-4 for the first time since 2014-15 season.
 
ABOUT THE BEARCATS
Leading the way offensively for the Bearcats through the first five games is sophomore guard Christy Fortune (Appleton, Wis./Appleton West), who is averaging 18.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 56 percent from the field, 52 percent from the 3-point line and 73 percent at the free throw line and is coming off a career-high 36 point effort last Tuesday against Blackburn. In that game, Fortune also added 10 rebounds her first career double-double and was 11-for-16 from the field and 8-for-12 from the 3-point line. The 36 points are tied for fourth-most in a game in school history.
 
In addition to Fortune, the second Bearcat averaging in double figures on the year is second-year freshman guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill./Jerseyville Community) is averaging 11.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game and is shooting 42 percent from the field and 86 percent at the free throw line and has hit eight treys and is fresh off a career high 22 point effort against Blackburn. In fact, Breden has had two games with 20 more points this season.
 
The third double-digit scoer is redshirt junior guard Kaelyn Froebe (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln, who is averaging 10.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and is shooting just 30 percent from the field and 63 percent from the free throw line as she has shot a team-best 16 free throws and is coming off a 17 point, eight rebound effort against Blackburn.
 
This past Tuesday's game also marked the season debuts for redshirt senior guard/forward Sydney Diekhoff (Pekin, Ill./Pekin Community) and senior guard Madison Jones (Abingdon, Ill./Lincoln Land CC). Both players had missed the first four games due to recovery from off-season injuries. Against Blackburn, those two players combined to play 12 minutes and score six points with five of those points coming from Diekhoff, who is now just 10 points shy of 1,100 career points.
 
As a team, McKendree enters Monday's action averaging 53.8 points per game and are allowing 72.2 points per game and is shooting 38 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 70 percent from the free throw line. The Bearcats are getting outrebounded by a little over eight boards per game and is averaging 17.6 turnovers per game and 6.4 steals per game.
 
ABOUT ILLINOIS-SPRINGFIELD
UIS comes into Monday's GLVC opener sporting a 4-1 overall record after suffering its first loss of the season this past Monday at Missouri Western, a game the Prairie Stars lost, 82-72. Prior to the loss at Missouri Western, UIS was off to its best start in school history as they opened with four consecutive wins, including opening the season with back-to-back wins against Purdue Northwest (61-57) and Tiffin (60-45) at the Midwest Regional Crossover hosted by McKendree.
 
One of the biggest strengths of the Prairie Stars team this season is its defense as they are allowing just 59.0 points per game and have held three of their first five opponents under 60 points, including limiting Tiffin to just 45 points. In addition, UIS' opponents are shooting 38 percent from the field and 29 percent from the 3-point line and are forcing 19.2 turnovers per game. On offense, UIS is averaging 68.2 points per game and is shooting 42 percent from the field, 39 percent from the 3-point line and 74 percent from the free throw line. The Prairie Stars are outrebounding its foes by a +2.6 margin and have scored over 65 points in each of its last three games.
 
Leading the way for offensively for UIS is junior guard Lauren Ladowski. Ladowski is averaging 18.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.6 steals per game and is shooting 53 percent from the field, 50 percent from the 3-point line and 81 percent from the free throw line. Ladowski, who surpassed the 1,000 Point Club earlier this season against Lincoln (Mo.), is now the third all-time leading scorer in the program's history.
 
The other double digit scorer for the Prairie Stars is sophomore guard Malea Jackson, who is averaging 10.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field, 44 percent from the 3-point line and 71 percent from the free throw line.
 
One other player is averaging just under double-digits as junior forward Ellie Mitchell is averaging 9.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field and 40 percent from long distance and has scored in double figures in three of her last four games.
 
Casey Thousand is in her third season as the Prairie Stars' head coach and has compiled a 23-31 record and is 106-128 in her 10th season as a collegiate head coach after spending the 2009-16 season as the head coach at Edgewood (Wis.) College.  

Monday's game will be the 45th all-time in the series with McKendree holding a 33-11 edge in the series including winning the most recent meeting, 71-68 in Lebanon, Ill., on Feb. 16, 2021. McKendree leads the series, 20-3 at home and 13-8 at UIS. In addition, McKendree and UIS have meet twice in GLVC openers and both teams are 1-1 in those games as McKendree won 71-64 at home over UIS to open league play in 2013-14 and UIS won 73-56 on its home court to open league play in 2012-13.

UP NEXT
Following Tuesday's game, the Bearcats will remain on the road as they travel to Town & Country, Mo., for a 5:15 GLVC contest at Maryville University on Thursday, Dec. 2, before hosting Lewis University for a 1 p.m. GLVC on Saturday, Dec. 4.