LEBANON, Ill. – For the first time in 24 days, the McKendree University women's basketball team will return to the court on Saturday, Jan. 8 as they open the New Year with a 1 p.m. contest against Truman State in Great Lakes Valley Conference action on both Camper and Alumni Day at the Melvin Price Convocation Center.
 
Saturday's game will be the first game of the 2022 calendar year for the Bearcats and also the first game for McKendree since closing its 2021-22 non-conference slate with a 54-29 loss at Northwest Missouri State on Wednesday, Dec. 15.
 
McKendree's games last Sunday at home with Southern Indiana and Tuesday at the University of Indianapolis were canceled due to health and safety protocols within the Bearcats program.
 
The Bearcats comes into Saturday's fifth home game of the 2021-22 season with a 1-9 overall record and an 0-3 mark in the GLVC. The Bearcats have lost five straight games since collecting a 90-71 home win on Nov. 23 over Blackburn College.
 
ABOUT McKENDREE
The Bearcats, who went 1-6 in its non-conference schedule, are led offensively by sophomore guard Christy Fortune (Appleton, Wis./Appleton West), who is averaging 12.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 48 percent from the field, 44 percent from the 3-point line and 73 percent from the free throw line. She has scored in double figures in five of nine game and has pulled down eight or more rebounds in five of her last seven games, including a career high 10 boards against both Blackburn and UIS. Fortune currently 13th in the league in rebounding, fifth in both 3-point field goal percentage and three-point field goals made per game (2.4).

In addition to Fortune, two other Bearcats are averaging between 8.5 and 9.3 points per game on the season as second-year freshman guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill./Jerseyville Community) is averaging 9.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game and is shooting 39 percent from the field and has reached double figures in five games and sophomore guard Erin Golden (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) is averaging 8.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and is shooting 38 percent from the field and 79 percent at the free throw line. Golden has made a team-high 19 free throws and has scored in double figures in three games, including a career high 17 points against Purdue Northwest.

Three players (Fortune, Breden and Golden) have scored 85 or more points on the season as Fortune has tallied 111 points, while Breden has scored 93 points and Golden has scored 85 points.

As a team this season, the Bearcats are averaging 49.5 points per game and are allowing 72.7 points per game and are shooting 36 percent from the field, 30 percent from the 3-point line and 66 percent from the free throw line. McKendree, who scored a season high 90 points in its only win of the season against Blackburn on Nov. 23, is getting outrebounded by 10.0 boards per game and is averaging 6.9 steals per game, which is ninth in the GLVC and 9.9 assists per game.

Defensively, the Bearcats opponents are shooting 45 percent from the field, 34 percent from the 3-point line and 70 percent from the free throw line.

McKendree is coached by Kari Kerkhoff and she is 68-102 in her seventh season as the Bearcats head coach. Her 68 wins are third most in school history, while her seven years are tied with Ann DeBoe (1990-97) for second longest tenure in program history.

ABOUT TRUMAN STATE
Truman State comes into Saturday's game having won four straight games, including opening 2022 with a 68-59 road win on Tuesday at Quincy and an 83-75 home win on Thursday over Lewis University, to push its overall record to 7-5 on the season and its GLVC record to 3-1. The current four game win streak came after the Bulldogs had opened the season by winning three of its first eight games.
 
Along with picking up GLVC wins over Quincy and Lewis, Truman's other league win this season came against Maryville (70-67), while its loss came in its league opener against UMSL (57-54).
 
Three Truman State players are averaging in double figures on the season with junior guard Hannah Belanger leading the way with 19.7 points per game. The 19.7 points per game is third-best in the GLVC. Along with averaging 19.7 points per game, she is averaging 5.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field, 33 percent from the 3-point line and 80 percent from the free throw line. She has scored in double figures in all 12 games, including five games of scoring 20 or more points and she is coming off a 25-point effort in the win over Quincy.
 
In addition to Belanger, the other double-digit scorers for the Bulldogs are junior forward Ellie Weltha and redshirt senior forward Maddie Re. Weltha is averaging 16.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 56 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free throw line and has scored in double figures in 10 games and has tallied six double-doubles, while Re is averaging 12.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 67 percent from the field and 72 percent from the free throw line and has reached double-digits in eight games.
 
As a team, Truman State is fourth in the league in scoring as they are averaging 72.6 points per game and they lead the league in field goal shooting at 47.3 percent and are second in the league in free throw shooting at 76.1 percent. In addition, they are shooting 29 percent from the 3-point line and have a +8.6 rebound advantage and are averaging 9.3 offensive boards per game and 6.3 made treys per game.
 
Defensively, Truman State is allowing 65.5 points per game and have held four of their opponents under 60 points and are allowing 64.5 points per game in GLVC play. Truman's foes are shooting 43 percent from the field, 34 percent from the 3-point line and 80 percent at the free throw line and are forcing 12.0 turnovers per game and are averaging 5.0 steals per game.
 
Truman State is coached by Theo Dean, who is 44-18 in his third season as the Bulldogs head coach and he has posted a 32-8 record in GLVC play at his alma mater.
 
Saturday's game will mark the 18th all-time meeting in the series that dates to 1985-86. Truman State holds a 16-1 edge in the series and has won 11 straight games in the series since McKendree picked up its lone win (71-64) in the series on Feb. 22, 1988. The Bulldogs won the most recent meeting on Jan. 28, 2021 as Truman State picked up a 68-65 win over the Bearcats in Lebanon, Ill. Truman is 8-1 in Lebanon and 8-0 in Kirksville, Mo.
 
UP NEXT
Following Saturday's game, McKendree will remain at home as they host the University of Indianapolis on Thursday, Jan. 13 for a 5:30 p.m. GLVC contest at the Convocation Center.