LEBANON, Ill. - The McKendree University women's basketball team shot a season high 51 percent from the field, but was outscored 25-10 in the second quarter en route to suffering a 69-50 setback to Lewis University in its Great Lakes Valley Conference home opener here Saturday afternoon at the Melvin Price Convocation Center.
With the setback, McKendree falls to 1-7 overall and 0-3 in the GLVC, while Lewis improves to 2-6 overall and 1-1 in the league.
Saturday's game was the third this week for the Bearcats to open GLVC play as they began the week with an 81-52 setback on Monday at Illinois-Springfield, before falling 70-40 on Thursday at Maryville.
Second-year freshman guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill./Jerseyville Community) paced the Bearcats offense with 10 points, all of which came in the first half. In addition to Breden, three other Bearcats scored between six and seven points as sophomore guard Erin Golden (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) added seven points, while redshirt sophomore guard Ashley Schloer (O'Fallon, Ill./St. Cloud State) and sophomore guard Christy Fortune (Appleton, Wis./Appleton West) each had six points. Fortune added a game-high nine rebounds.
Despite shooting a season best 51.1 percent (23-for-45) from the field, the Bearcats made just one 3-pointer in the game (1-for-5) and were 3-for-8 from the free throw line.
Lewis took 30 more field goals in the game than the Bearcats as Lewis finished the game 30-for-75 (40 percent) from the field and were 6-for-23 (26 percent) from the 3-point line. The Flyers also took 18 more treys in the game than McKendree.
The Bearcats jumped in front 6-2 in the opening four-plus minutes of the game, before Lewis used a 6-2 run to tie the game at 8-all. Breden would hit a lay-up with 2:35 left in the quarter that began a 6-3 run for the Bearcats to close the quarter as they held a 14-11 lead following the opening 10 minutes of the contest.
Lewis, though, would open the second quarter on 14-4 run to turn a three point deficit into a seven point lead at 25-18 following a lay-up by Kathryn Schmidt. Back-to-back lay-ups from senior guard Jenna Krause (Seymour, Wis./Seymour) and Breden pushed the Bearcats within three points at 25-22 with 4:08 left in the quarter.
The Flyers, though, would respond with an 11-2 run to close the quarter to take a 36-24 lead at the half.
In the second quarter, the Bearcats shot 71 percent from the field as they were 5-for-7 from the field and didn't attempt a trey in the quarter, while Lewis shot 75 percent from the field (12-for-16) and was 1-for-3 from the 3-point line.
McKendree opened the third quarter by scoring five of the first nine points to drop Lewis' lead to 40-29 following a lay-up by Golden with 5:01 left in the quarter. The Flyers would answer with a 9-2 run to extend its lead to 49-31 with 43 seconds left in the quarter. Fortune would connect on a shot right before the buzzer to drop Lewis' lead to 49-33 heading into the final quarter.
Both teams struggled shooting the ball in the third quarter as they combined to make 10 of the 34 shots attempted as Lewis was 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) and McKendree was 4-for-11 (36.4 percent).
Lewis would increase its lead to as much as 26 points following a lay-up by Grace Hilber with 2:49 left in the game. Hilber's lay-up made the score, 67-41.
The Bearcats would mount a late rally following Hilber's lay-up as they closed the game outscoring the Flyers, 9-2, to set the final margin. The closing run began with a layup from redshirt junior guard Kaelyn Froebe (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln) and was capped by a three-pointer from senior guard Madison Jones (Abingdon, Ill./Lincoln Land CC) with 39 seconds remaining. Schloer and freshman guard Morgan Nettles (St. Louis, Mo./Clayton) also scored points for the Bearcats during the run.
Hilber paced Lewis with 17 points, while Lily Courier added 11 points and Schmidt tallied eight points and six rebounds in the win.
Lewis held a 41-29 edge on the boards, including 21 offensive boards that led to a 19-4 advantage in second chance points. The Flyers also blocked four shots to one for McKendree.
The Bearcats will now take time off to complete first semester classes and final exams before returning to action on Monday, Dec. 13 with a 5:30 p.m. non-conference contest in Joplin, Mo., against Missouri Southern State University.
