LEBANON, Ill. – The McKendree University women's basketball will return to action following a 10-day break to complete first semester classes and final exams here Tuesday evening as the Bearcats play host to Northwest Missouri State in a 6 p.m. non-conference tilt at the Melvin Price Convocation Center on the McKendree campus.
Tuesday's game, which is being billed as a "Battle of the Bearcats" will be McKendree's first game since picking up a 63-56 home win on Dec. 3 against Southwest Baptist. The win over SBU extended McKendree's win streak to three straight games, which is the longest win streak for McKendree since opening the 2019-20 season with four consecutive victories.
McKendree comes into Tuesday's home contest with Northwest Missouri State sporting a 5-4 overall record and a 3-1 mark in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while Northwest Missouri State comes into the contest having lost four straight games to drop its record to 4-5 overall and 0-4 in the MIAA following its 67-52 loss on Sunday at home to Fort Hays State, which came one day after the Bearcats fell 77-51 at home to 22nd-ranked Nebraska-Kearney.
ABOUT McKENDREE
McKendree comes into Tuesday's game with an offense that is averaging 65.7 points per game and is allowing 60.9 points per game. The Bearcats are shooting 43 percent from the field, 30 percent from the 3-point line and 77.8 percent from the free throw line. During its current three-game winning streak, McKendree is averaging 70.0 points per game and is allowing 62.7 points per game and is shooting 48 percent from the field, 39 percent from the 3-point line and 73 percent at the free throw line.
The Bearcats defense is one of the tops in the league in they are second in the league in scoring defense as they are allowing 60.9 points per game and 3-point field goal percentage defense at 28 percent as their opponents are 47-for-168 from downtown. In addition, the Bearcats are third in field goal percentage defense as they are allowing their foes to shoot 39.8 percent from the field and are second in the league in steals as they are averaging 8.6 per game and have collected 77 in nine games with Breden leading the way with 16, while McDaniel has had 12 and junior guard Madyson Harper (Delavan, Ill./Parkland CC) has had 11.
Two Bearcats are averaging in double figures on the season as junior forward Naomi McDaniel (Attica, Ind./Parkland CC) is averaging 12.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game and is shooting a GLVC-leading 55.6 percent from the field and has scored in double figures in five games, including two games of scoring 20 or more points and has the team's lone double-double of the season as she had 18 points and 12 rebounds in a 66-57 win over Rogers State at the finale of the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home Classic on Nov. 20. During the current three game win streak, McDaniel is averaging 14.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 55 percent from the field.
McKendree's other double-digit scorer this season is sophomore guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill./Jerseyville Community), who is averaging 10.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game and is shooting 47 percent from the field, 40 percent from from the 3-point line and 73 percent at the free throw line. Breden has scored in double figures in four straight games and five times overall on the season and is averaging 13.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game over the last three games.
A third Bearcat is averaging over eight points per game on the season as junior guard Christy Fortune (Appleton, Wis./Appleton West) is averaging 8.4 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field, 30 percent from the 3-point line and 80 percent at the free throw line. Fortune, who has made 100 career treys, leads the way with 14 made treys this season and over the last three games, she is averaging 11.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 50 percent from both the field and 3-point line. On the season, she has scored in double figures in three straight games and four times overall, including tying a season high with 14 points in her last outing against Southwest Baptist.
ABOUT NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE
Northwest Missouri State comes into Tuesday's road game with McKendree having dropped four straight and five of its last six games overall with the lone win being a 75-61 home win over Peru State on Nov. 27. NWMSU opened the 2022-23 season by winning its first three games before suffering its first loss of the game against Minnesota State (71-46). NWMSU is 4-1 in non-conference games this season with the lone loss in non-conference play being that setback to Minnesota State.
Leading the way offensively for Northwest Missouri State is redshirt sophomore guard Molly Harnett, who is averaging 13.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game and is shooting 40 percent from the field and 90 percent from the free throw line. She has scored in double figures in seven of nine games, including three straight games of scoring in double figures.
In addition to Harnett, junior forward Jayna Green is the team's season leading scorer and leading rebounder as she is averaging 8.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and has blocked a team-best nine shots. Green is shooting 48 percent from the field, 29 percent from the 3-point line and 93 percent from the free throw line and has scored in double figures in two games.
Sophomore guard Peyton Kelderman is averaging 7.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 35 percent from the field and 42 percent from the 3-point line. Kelderman has made a team-best 20 treys on the season.
On the season, NWMSU is averaging 62.6 points per game, but has been held 55 points in three of its last five games, including scoring just 52 points in its home loss on Sunday against Pitt State. In addition to averaging 62.6 points per game, NWMSU is shooting 40 percent from the field, 31 percent from the 3-point line and 71 percent from the free throw line. Defensively, NWMSU is averaging 66.7 points per game and their opponents are shooting 43 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 70 percent from the free throw line. The Bearcats are forcing 12.7 turnovers per game and are averaging 6.2 steals and 2.4 blocks per game on the season.
Northwest Missouri State is coached by Austin Meyer, who is in his fifth season at his alma mater and has compiled a 48-70 overall record and a 29-57 mark in the MIAA. Prior to becoming the women's coach in 2018, Meyer spent the 2008-18 season as an assistant coach with Northwest Missouri's men's program. As a player at NWMSU, Meyer scored 1,294 points and made 215 career 3-pointers.
Wednesday's game will mark the fifth all-time meeting in the series between the two schools as McKendree holds a 3-1 lead in the series. Northwest Missouri, though, won the team's most recent meeting, 54-29, in Maryville, Mo., last season. McKendree is 1-0 at home against Northwest Missouri and is 1-1 in Maryville.
UP NEXT
Following Tuesday's game, the Bearcats will take six days off before returning to action on Monday, Dec. 19 with its final non-conference game of the 2022-23 season against Culver-Stockton College. Tip-off for the game is set for 1 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
