LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree University women's basketball will return to action for the first time in nine days this coming Monday, Dec. 13 as they begin a two-game road trip in the Show Me State with a 5:30 p.m. non-conference game in Joplin, Mo., against Missouri Southern State University.
Monday's game, which will be the first for McKendree since suffering a 69-50 loss in its Great Lakes Valley Conference home opener last Saturday at home against Lewis University, will be the first of two games in three days to close out its pre-Christmas schedule for the Bearcats as they conclude the road swing with a 6 p.m. game on Wednesday, Dec. 15 in Maryville, Mo., against Northwest Missouri State.
The Bearcats come into Monday's game with Missouri Southern State sporting a 1-7 overall record and its 0-3 in the GLVC, while MSSU enters the game having won five consecutive games and is sporting a 5-2 overall record and is 3-0 in the MIAA after picking up an 84-65 win on Saturday at Rogers (Okla.) State.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS
The Bearcats, who are off to its worst start to open a season since 2014-15, are led offensively by sophomore guard Christy Fortune (Appleton, Wis./Appleton), who is averaging 14.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 52 percent from the field, 48 percent from the 3-point line and 73.3 percent from the free throw line. She has scored 25 points and had 27 rebounds over her last three games and has reached double figures in scoring four game and has pulled down eight or more rebounds in five straight games, including a career high 10 boards against both Blackburn and UIS.
In addition to Fortune, one other Bearcat is scoring in double digits on the year as second-year freshman guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill./Jerseyville Community) is averaging 10.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field and 35 percent from the 3-point line and has scored in double figures in two straight games and five times overall on the season.
A third Bearcat is averaging just under double figures on the season as sophomore guard Erin Golden (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) is averaging 9.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field and 77 percent from the free throw line. Golden has made a team high 17 free throws and is tied for the team lead in free throw attempts with 22 and she has scored in double figures in three games, including a career high 17 points against Purdue Northwest.
As a team this season, the Bearcats are averaging 51.4 points per game and are allowing 72.6 points per game and are shooting 37 percent from the field, 34 percent from the 3-point line and 66 percent from the free throw line. McKendree is getting outrebounded by 10.4 boards per game, but is averaging 7.4 steals per game and 10.3 assists per game.
ABOUT THE LIONS
Missouri Southern State comes into Monday's home game with McKendree sporting a 5-2 overall record and a 3-0 record in the MIAA. The Lions have won five straight games since opening the season with back-to-back losses at home to Henderson State (81-74) and Harding (87-81). Since those two losses, MSSU has reeled off five straight wins, including its 84-65 win in its last outing on Saturday at Rogers State.
Leading the way offensively for MSSU is freshman guard Lacy Stokes, who is averaging 19.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game and is shooting 38 percent from the field and 71 percent from the free throw line and she has tallied double figures in scoring in all seven games this season, including three games of scoring 20 or more points and had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds against Oklahoma Panhandle.
The other Lion scoring in double figures is junior guard/forward Layne Skiles, who is averaging 11.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 48 percent from the field, 48 percent from the 3-point line and 95 percent from the free throw line and she has tallied double digits in scoring in five games and had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds against Harding.
Two other Lions are averaging 9.4 points per game on the season are junior guard/forward Amaya Jones and redshirt freshman guard Kaitlin Hunnicut. Jones is is also averaging 4.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 40 percent from the field and has reached double figures in five of seven games, while Hunnicut is also averaging 3.7 rebounds per game is shooting 43 percent from field, 35 percent from the 3-point line and 83 percent at the free throw line and has reached double figures in three games.
On the season, the Lions are averaging a little over 76 points per game and are allowing 65.7 points per game and is shooting 42 percent from the field, 33 percent from the 3-point line and 74 percent from the free throw line. MSSU has scored over 80 points in four of their seven games, including a season high 84 points last time out against Rogers State. The Lions are forcing 19.0 turnovers per game and are shooting nearly 23 free throws per game and are making 14.9 free throws per game.
MSSU is coached by Ronnie Ressel, who is in his sixth season with the Lions and has compiled a 61-84 record. Along with serving as the women's head coach for six years, he is in his 19th season as a part of the athletic department at his alma mater, as he served as both an assistant coach with the men's and women's basketball programs.
Monday's game will mark the fifth all-time meeting in the series between the two schools and the first since McKendree picked up a 63-61 win at the Melvin Price Convocation Center on Nov. 17, 2019. McKendree leads the series, 2-1 in Lebanon, while MSSU won the only meeting (75-42) in Joplin in 1986-87.
UP NEXT
Following Monday's game, the Bearcats will close out the first semester part of its 2021-22 season with a 6 p.m. game on Wednesday, Dec. 15 in Maryville, Mo., against Northwest Missouri State University.
