LIBERTY, Mo. – McKendree University women's basketball overcame a 14-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter of play against William Jewell here Monday evening to capture their first conference win of the 2022-23 season as they posted a 75-70 win over the Cardinals in Great Lakes Valley Conference action at the Mabee Center.

With the win, McKendree improves to 3-4 on the year and 1-1 in the GLVC, while Jewell falls 1-6 overall and 0-2 in the league. 
 
William Jewell held the advantage for most of the game, leading McKendree 39-33 at the half. The Cardinals heated up at the three-point line as they hit 7-11 threes between the second and third quarters and stretched their lead to 61-49 by the end of three quarters.
 
After two free throws from the Cardinals at the start of the fourth quarter, putting William Jewell up 63-49, McKendree would turn things around for the rest of the game.
 
"We talked at halftime about changing the tempo and the physicality of the game. We needed to be more aggressive on both ends of the court and we really did that in the fourth quarter," McKendree head coach Kari Kerkhoff said following the game. 
 
The Bearcats poured on a tenacious full-court press and delivered in big scoring opportunities as they chipped away at the Cardinals' lead. McKendree went on a 17-2 run as junior forward Naomi McDaniel (Attica, Ind./Parkland CC) accounted for seven in the Bearcats' 17-point streak.
 
With five minutes left to play, McKendree's sophomore guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill./Jerseyville) drained a three-pointer to give the Bearcats a 66-65 advantage for the first time since halfway through the first quarter.
 
As the teams tied back up at 68-all, Breden delivered her second three-pointer of the quarter to put the Bearcats up with two minutes left, where they would stay until the expiration of time. The final score read 75-70 in favor of the Bearcats.
 
Three Bearcats put up double figures as McDaniel scored a career-high 24 points and shot 10-for-11 from the field while also snagging seven rebounds in the win. Breden added 12 points, 10 of which were scored in the fourth quarter, while junior guard Christy Fortune (Appleton, Wis./Appleton) netted 11 points for the Bearcats. Junior guard Erin Golden (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) added a season-high nine points off the bench. 
 
McKendree was challenged at the free throw line throughout the game as they hit only 57 percent of their free throw tries to William Jewel's 80 percent, but were able to prevail from the field as the Bearcats outshot the Cardinals 52 percent to 37 percent in field goals. Jewell shot 40 percent from the 3-point line, while McKendree shot 39 percent from long distance.

Chloe Frank led Jewell with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Kate Hillyer had 13 points. Emree Zars and Rachel Senn each had 10 points for the Cardinals.  
 
The Bearcats are back in action this week with another GLVC contest against Rockhurst University at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1 at the Melvin Price Convocation Center.