LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree women's basketball opens Great Lakes Valley Conference play this weekend as they face Truman State on Saturday and William Jewell on Monday on the road. The Bearcats are currently 2-3 for the 2022-23 season.
McKendree tips off with Truman State on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 1 p.m. before heading to William Jewell on Monday for a 5:30 p.m. contest.
The Bearcats will look for their third straight win following victories over Rogers State last Sunday and Blackburn in McKendree's home opener on Tuesday.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS
In the Bearcats' five games, the team has averaged 61.8 points per game and is led in scoring by junior forward
Naomi McDaniel (Attica, Ind./Parkland CC) with 13.0 points per game and sophomore guard
Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill./Jerseyville) who has tallied 8.2 points per game. McDaniel recorded a season-high and team-high 20 points in Tuesday's contest against Blackburn.
McDaniel and junior guard
Maclayne Taylor (Ogden, Ill./Lincoln Land CC) lead the boards with 8.2 and 5.0 rebounds per game, respectively. Three Bearcats have collected double-digit total assists for the season as junior guard
Madyson Harper (Delevan, Ill./Parkland CC) leads with 11 while McDaniel and Breden have each tallied 10. Harper also leads the Bearcats with nine steals, including a season-high and team-high seven steals against Blackburn.
The Bearcats posted a 2-16 record for GLVC play last season and heads into the contests ranked 12th by the preseason GLVC Coaches' poll for the 2022-23 season.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Truman State heads into the weekend contest sporting a 3-3 record on the season so far. The Bulldogs started the season at the GLVC/G-MAC Crossover, posting a 2-2 record with wins against Ursuline (67-53) and Upper Iowa (97-90) and gaining their third win over Cedarville (70-63) at the Drury Thanksgiving Classic this week.
As a team, Truman State is averaging 80.7 points per game, only .5 points ahead of their opponents' average of 80.2 points per game. Among the key scorers for the Bulldogs is senior guard Hannah Belanger who led the team in scoring for the 2021-22 season at 17.1 points per game.
Through the first six games of the season, three Bulldogs have collected double-digit scoring averages as Belanger averages 24.7 points, redshirt senior forward Ellie Weltha has tallied a 13.7-point average, and graduate forward Alex Fanning has tabbed a 10.3-point average. Weltha also leads the team in rebounding with 8.7 rebounds per game.
The Bulldogs hold the all-time win advantage over the Bearcats, including two contests from the 2021-22 season as Truman defeated McKendree 79-55 and 90-63. Truman ended last season with a 13-6 record in conference play and is ranked No. 2 according to the GLVC preseason coaches' poll.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals enter the Monday contest against McKendree with a 1-4 record, their lone victory coming against Blackburn College last week. William Jewell kicked off the season hosting the GLVC/GLIAC Crossover event which included Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech, and Upper Iowa.
The Cardinals are led in scoring by freshman forward Chloe Frank with 10.2 points per game and freshman guard Emree Zars at 8.0 points per game. Zars also leads William Jewell with 6.2 rebounds per game. Among the key returners for the Cardinals is sophomore guard Kate Hillyer who is the third-leading scorer currently after posting the second-highest number of points for the team last season.
William Jewell holds a 6-3 all-time record over the Bearcats, though the Bearcats have taken the victory in two of the last three meetings between the teams. The Cardinals ended the season with a 0-19 conference record and are ranked No. 13 in the conference per the GLVC preseason coaches' poll.
UP NEXT
The Bearcats will be back at home on Thursday, Dec. 1 and Saturday, Dec. 3 with more conference games against Rockhurst and Southwest Baptist. Thursday's game will tip off at 5:30 p.m. while Saturday's game will begin at 1 p.m. Both games will be at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon.
