LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree University women's basketball will close out the regular season portion of its 2021-22 home schedule this week by hosting Lindenwood and Maryville in Great Lakes Valley Conference action at the Melvin Price Convocation Center.

The Bearcats open the week with a 5:30 p.m. game on Thursday, Feb. 17 against Lindenwood on Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night and also "White Out" Night at the Convocation Center, before hosting Maryville on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. Saturday's game will be Senior Day, "Pink Out" Day and Alumni Day for the Bearcats.

McKendree will honor its four seniors – guard Sydney Diekhoff (Pekin, Ill./Pekin Community), guard Madison Jones (Abington, Ill./Lincoln Land CC), guard Jenna Krause (Seymour, Wis./Seymour) and guard Haley Zylka (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) – in a pregame ceremony prior to the beginning of the Maryville game.

Thursday's game with Lindenwood will mark the only meeting this season between the two schools, while Saturday's game with Maryville will be the second meeting of the season as the Saints earned a 70-40 win over the Bearcats in Town & Country, Mo., on Dec. 2.

McKendree, who is currently 13th in the most recent GLVC TicketSmarter Point Rating System with a PRS rating of 2.11, comes into this week's action sporting a 3-18 overall record and 2-12 mark in the GLVC after dropping back-to-back road games last weekend at Missouri S&T and then ninth-ranked Drury. The Bearcats have now lost five straight games since earning a 58-48 win at William Jewell on Jan. 27.

In the loss last Thursday at Missouri S&T, sophomore guard Erin Golden (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) scored a career high 19 points and added eight rebounds, while in the setback at Drury, second-year freshman guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill./Jerseyville Community) led the way with 16 points, while Diekhoff added 13 points against the Lady Panthers.
This week's two home games will mark the 11th and 12th contests at home for the Bearcats this season as they are 2-8 home, including being 1-6 at home in GLVC play with that lone win coming against UIndy (63-58) on Jan. 13.

ABOUT McKENDREE
The Bearcats, are led offensively by sophomore guard Christy Fortune (Appleton, Wis./Appleton West) and Breden, who are the only two players averaging in double figures on the year.

Fortune, who has missed the last three games due to injury, comes into play this week as the team leader in both scoring (11.8 ppg) and rebounder (6.5 rpg) and is shooting 42 percent from the field, 38 percent from the 3-point line and 78 percent from the free throw line. She has scored in double figures in nine of her 18 games on the year and has pulled down seven or more boards in 10 games. She is currently tied for 10th in the league in rebounding, 14th in 3-point field goal percentage, 11th in 3-pointers made (37) and fourth in 3-pointers made per game (2.2).  

Meanwhile, Breden is averaging 11.7 points per game and is shooting 42 percent from the field and 76 percent from the free throw line and is third in assists (48) and second in steals (21) and has scored in double figures in five of her last six games and a team-best 14 games and has led the team in scoring nine times. In GLVC play, Breden is averaging 12.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

Diekhoff comes into play this week needing just 42 points to tie Katie Hasheider for 10th on the school's all-time scoring chart as Hasheider scored 1,258 points from 2003-07. In addition to scoring 1,216 career points, Diekhoff is tied for fourth on the school's career 3-point goal made chart (165) and is sixth on the career free throws made chart (297). This season, Diekhoff has scored in double figures in seven games, including six times in her last eight games and is averaging 8.6 points per game in GLVC play.

Five players have scored over 125 points on the season for the Bearcats as Breden leads the way with a team high 246 points, while Fortune has tallied 201 points and Golden has scored 191 points. The other two Bearcats with over 100 points this season are Diekhoff and junior guard Kaelyn Froebe (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln) as they have scored 131 and 130 points respectively.

One the biggest strengths this season for the Bearcats has been their ability to shoot free throws as they enter this week's action ninth in the league in free throw shooting at 73.3 percent, including shooting 74.6 percent from the line in GLVC play. Over its last eight games, the Bearcats have made 129 of its last 164 free throws (78.7 percent). Krause is leading the way at the foul line as she is shooting 92.9 percent (26-for-28) at the line and has made 25 of her last 26 free throws. In addition to Krause, Golden is seventh in the GLVC in free throw shooting at 83 percent as she is 44-for-53 on the season and has made 28 of her last 34 free throws.

As a team, McKendree is scoring 53.1 points per game and is shooting 35 percent from the field and 28 percent from the 3-point line and are getting outrebounded by 8.9 boards per game and is averaging 6.7 steals per game, which is 10th in the league. Seven Bearcats led by Golden's 26 have collected 10 or more steals on the season. In addition to Golden, Breden has collected 21 steals, while Zylka has had 18 and Froebe has had 17 steals.

Defensively, the Bearcats opponents are averaging 75.2 points per game and are shooting 45 percent from the field, 36 percent from the 3-point line and 71 percent from the free throw line. The Bearcats are one of the top teams in Division II at not fouling as they are committing just 14.2 fouls per game, which is 25th-best in NCAA Division II women's basketball. On the season, the Bearcats have recorded a total of 298 fouls in 21 games and that is 17th among all Division II schools.

McKendree is coached by Kari Kerkhoff and she is 70-110 in her seventh season as the Bearcats head coach. Her 70 wins are the third most in school history, while her seven years are tied with Ann DeBoe (1990-97) for second longest tenure in program history. 

ABOUT LINDENWOOD
Lindenwood, who is 10th in the most recent GLVC TicketSmarter Point Rating System with a PRS rating of 2.77, comes into action this week having lost six straight games since earning a 73-60 win at Southwest Baptist on Jan. 27. The Lions' latest loss in this stretch came at home on Monday against Missouri S&T as the Miners posted a 92-79 win.Lindenwood is sporting a 9-13 overall record and a 6-9 mark in the GLVC. The Lions have struggled away from home this season as they are 3-7 on the road, including being 2-4 on the road in GLVC games. Lindenwood has lost three straight games on the road since that win at Southwest Baptist.

The Lions enter the week as one of the top rebounding teams in the league as they are third in the GLVC in rebounds per game at 38.4 and lead the league in both assists per game (16.3) and blocked shots per game (4.2).

Additionally, Lindenwood is fourth in the league in offensive rebounding as they average 12.3 per game and are averaging 69.4 points per game and allowing 69.9 points per game.

The Lions are also shooting 44 percent from the field, 33 percent from the 3-point line and 73 percent at the free throw line, while their foes are shooting 43 percent from the field and 37 percent from long distance.

Leading the way offensively for Lindenwood is graduate student guard Julia Ruzevich, who leads the GLVC in scoring (19.7 ppg), rebounding (11.3 rpg) and double-doubles (13). She is shooting 47 percent from the field and 74 percent at the free throw line and has blocked 26 shots and has had 20 games of scoring in double figures, including seven straight double-digit scoring games.

In addition to Ruzevich, redshirt senior guard Devin Fuhring is averaging 14.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field and 84 percent at the free throw line and has made a team-best 30 treys, while senior forward Ellen McCorkle is averaging 11.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game and has blocked 28 shots and is shooting 47 percent from the field and 82 percent from the free throw line.

Lindenwood is coached by Katie Falco, who is in her fourth season at the helm of the Lions program and has compiled a 60-38 record and is 31-24 in GLVC games.

Thursday's game will mark the 18th all-time meeting between the two schools as Lindenwood holds a 10-7 series lead. The Bearcats have lost four straight games in the series, including a 75-73 loss last season at Lindenwood. McKendree leads the series, 5-3 in Lebanon, while Lindenwood holds a 7-2 on its home court.   

ABOUT MARYVILLE
Maryville, who plays at Southern Indiana on Thursday before facing McKendree on Saturday, comes into action this week having won two straight games and four of its last five overall with its lone loss being a 65-49 decision at home against UMSL on Feb. 10. Maryville is sporting an 11-11 overall record and a 7-9 mark in the GLVC and is ranked 11th in the latest GLVC TicketSmarter Point Rating System with a PRS rating of 2.72. Maryville's two wins during its current streak came at home last Saturday against Lindenwood (77-66) and at home on Monday against Quincy (73-37). Maryville is 4-8 away from home on the season, including being 2-6 on the road in GLVC play and they have lost four of their last five league road games.

The Saints come into play this week as one of the top defensive teams in the GLVC as they second in the league in field goal percentage defense (38.6 percent) and are fourth in the league in scoring defense as they are allowing 63.0 points per game. In addition to being one of the top defensive teams in the league, Maryville is also one of the top three-point shooting teams in the GLVC as they are making nearly 36 percent of their 3-point attempts and are averaging 6.6 made treys per game.

Maryville has two players averaging in double figures on the year as junior guard Antoinette Mussorici is averaging 16.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field, 39 percent from the 3-point line and 78 percent from the free throw line. She has scored in double figures in 18 games, including scoring 30 points each in two of her last three game and scored 13 points earlier this season against McKendree.

In addition to Mussorici, redshirt junior forward Taylor Kirby is the other Saints player that averages in double figures on the season as she is averaging 10.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 51 percent from the field and leads the team with 11 blocked shots.

Collin Lanam is in his sixth season as the Saints head coach and he has compiled a 79-75 record at Maryville and is the second winningest women's basketball coach in school history. 

Saturday's game will be the 15th meeting all-time in the series with Maryville and the second this season as the Saints hold a 10-4 edge in the series. The Saints have won four straight games over the Bearcats, including earning its 70-40 win earlier this season at Moloney Arena. Maryville holds a slight 4-3 lead at McKendree and leads 7-2 on its homecourt.  

UP NEXT
Following this week's action, the Bearcats will close out the 2021-22 regular season with road games on Monday, Feb. 21 at Lewis at 5:30 p.m. and on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. in St. Louis against 18th-ranked UMSL.