LEBANON, Ill. - The McKendree University women's basketball team begins regular season play this coming weekend with two contests at Tiffin University as part of the Midwest Region Crossover. The Bearcats face host Tiffin on Friday, Nov. 11 at 6 pm ET and Purdue Northwest on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7 pm ET. 

These contests follow McKendree's exhibition slate this past week against Division I foes Bradley University and Southern Illinois University. Despite the setbacks in those two contests, eighth-year head coach Kari Kerkhoff remains optimistic. 

"I loved our heart and effort in the exhibition games. We have a lot of depth and that is something I am excited about. Moving forward, it will be a matter of finding the right combinations, and I think we will be able to do a lot of different defenses with the combinations. There is a lot of talent on this bench," said Kerkhoff. 

McKendree experienced a challenging 2021-22 season, posting a 3-23 overall record and a 2-16 record in conference play as the team was plagued with injuries and often competed with a seven-player roster including returning starters - sophomore guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill./Jersey Community), junior guard Christy Fortune (Appleton, Wisc./Appleton), and junior guard Erin Golden (Batavia, Ill./Batavia). Breden, Fortune, and Golden were the top scorers for Bearcats last season, respectively.

"These three bring different dynamics to the team with Clare being able to handle the ball, Christy being an outstanding shooter, and Erin putting in some good minutes for us on both ends of the floor. I have to give them a lot of credit for communicating our expectations to the new players on and off the court," Kerkhoff said. "Everyone is excited to be playing again, and I've been really impressed with our returners getting everyone to mesh and have good team chemistry." 

Two more Bearcats will return from season-ending injuries last year as redshirt sophomore Lauren Stolzman (Hudson, Wisc./Hudson) comes back for her second season while redshirt freshman Maci Meyer (Hubertus, Wisc./Hartford Union) will see her first collegiate action in the regular season. 

"We've had quite the overhaul of injuries the past 2 to 3 years. I give our returners a lot of credit because they showed up every day and they fought through it. We were right with the other teams in a lot of games up until halftime and the third quarter because we were playing seven kids against teams who were playing 10 to 12 kids. We really ran out of energy," the McKendree coach said. 

Fortunately, McKendree will introduce four freshmen and four junior college transfers this season.

"It's nice that we have 13 players on our team that are healthy and ready to go," said Kerkhoff. "I can look down the bench and say, 'Oh, I haven't play this kid yet,' which I could not really do last year. We've got an array of experience with four freshmen that can give us some minutes, and then we have our returners who know our system. At the same time, we have four junior college transfers who have come in and immediately made a huge impact." 

Among those junior college transfers are guard Madyson Harper (Delavan, Ill./Midwest Central) and forward Naomi McDaniel (Attica, Ind./Attica Junior-Senior) from Parkland Community College as well as forward Kristyn Mitchell (Collinsville, Ill./Collinsville) from Illinois Central College and guard/forward Maclayne Taylor (Ogden, Ill./St. Joseph-Ogden) from Lincoln Land Community College. 

In the exhibition games, McDaniel, a six-foot forward, was the leading scorer for McKendree against Southern Illinois and had a 14-point showing alongside Breden against Bradley. 

"Naomi made a big impact in both games. She's come in and gotten even stronger from when she was at Parkland. She's a kid with a ton of competitiveness and versatility who is going to bring that winning style to us," said Kerkhoff of McDaniel. "It's going to be interesting to see people try to stop Naomi, Clare, and Christy, and with our depth, we are going to have a lot of other kids who can step up for us in scoring."

Also wearing Bearcat purple for the first time are four incoming freshmen. The freshmen newcomers include 5-foot-9 guard Addie Denny (Anna, Ill./Anna-Jonesboro), six-foot guard Georgia Duncan (Washington, Ill./Washington Community), 5-foot-11 forward Alyssa Powell (Troy, Ill./Alton Marquette Catholic), and 5-foot-8 guard Chloe White (Brussels, Ill./Alton Marquette Catholic). 

"It has taken a little bit for them to get going, but they have completely transitioned in terms of practice intensity from high school to college. Alyssa has been phenomenal in practice and is someone who can bring valuable minutes to our post play. Same thing with Addie, Georgia, and Chloe - they practice hard. It will be a matter of learning the system and getting rid of some bad habits to help them be successful in the college game," added Kerkhoff. 

With the team's newfound depth, Kerkhoff expects a shift in style of play this year. 

"That's the part I love about our depth is that I just tell them, 'Go play your heart out for two to three minutes and we have somebody else that can give just as much energy and spark from the bench.' For us, we will to be able to play a little more up-tempo game on the defensive side and offensively, playing fast, but smart," the McKendree coach said. "If we can't get the quick layup, then let's use the shot clock and get the best shot for our team. I think our ladies have done a great job of buying-in and making the extra pass to the open person." 

This weekend's games will mark McKendree's fourth season-opening matchup against both Tiffin and Purdue Northwest, as the teams have competed in the Midwest Region Crossover since 2018 and did not meet in 2020 because of COVID-19 pandemic. Tiffin holds a 2-1 record over the Bearcats as McKendree posted a 84-77 win over the Dragons in their 2019 season-opener. Purdue Northwest trails 2-1 in contests with McKendree as the Bearcats prevailed over the Pride 75-69 in 2018 and 60-46 in 2019, but the Bearcats lost last year's game at home, 84-61.

"We've played Tiffin and Purdue Northwest the past few years and these will be two solid games for us to start the season with. Tiffin has a new coach, a few returners, and a lot of new kids like we do, so we are just going to go into that game focusing on us. The great thing about our returners and experienced junior college kids is that they are able to make in-game adjustments, which I think we will have to do against Tiffin," Kerkhoff said. "Purdue Northwest is a phenomenal team and they continue to get better year after year. I have a feeling they are going to have more depth this year more than anything." 

Following the Midwest Crossover, McKendree looks ahead to starting GLVC play later this month. Last year, McKendree qualified for the GLVC tournament as all the teams in the league played in the tournament due to the pandemic, but aims to climb up the standings in conference play this season.

"The conference has always been top-tier in Division II. We are always going to be led with Drury and UMSL - there's no doubt about that. Even though we have those who sit at the top, every game is competitive with every other opponent. I think we can really jump right into the middle of the pack in the GLVC," Kerkhoff stated.  

After their first outing this weekend, the Bearcats will be on the road at Quincy the following weekend for the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home Classic before their home opener at the Melvin Price Convocation Center against Blackburn on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 3 pm.