LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree University will begin the final month of the women's basketball regular season this weekend with home games in Great Lakes Valley Conference play at the Melvin Price Convocation Center against Rockhurst College and Southwest Baptist University.
The Bearcats will open the weekend with a 5:30 p.m. game on Saturday, Feb. 5 against Rockhurst, before hosting Southwest Baptist for a 1 p.m. matinee contest on Monday, Feb. 7.
This week's games against Rockhurst and Southwest Baptist will be the only meetings this season for the Bearcats against those two schools.
McKendree comes into this week's action sporting a 3-14 overall record and 2-8 mark in the GLVC following its 1-1 record last week as they earned a 58-48 win last Thursday at William Jewell and fell 90-63 on Saturday at Truman State. The win over William Jewell snapped a three-game overall losing skid and a nine-game losing streak on the road for the Bearcats.
This weekend's home games will mark the ninth and 10th home games of the 2021-22 season for the Bearcats as they are 2-6 at home on the year, including being 1-4 at home in GLVC play with the home league win coming against UIndy on Jan. 13 as the Bearcats defeated the Greyhounds, 63-58.
In the win over William Jewell, the Bearcats outscored the Cardinals, 39-22 in the middle two quarters and a 22-for-24 effort from the free throw line in picking up its third victory of the season as the 22 made free throws tied a season high. Second-year freshman guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill./Jerseyville Community) led the way with 15 points, while redshirt senior guard Sydney Diekhoff (Pekin, Ill./Pekin Community) added a season high 14 points and sophomore guard Christy Fortune (Appleton, Wis./Appleton West) chipped in with 12 points and team-high eight rebounds.
Against Truman State, the Bearcats scored 63 points in the 90-63 setback as the 63 points were tied with a season high for points scored in a GLVC game as Breden led the way with a game-high 17 points, while senior guard Jenna Krause (Seymour, Wis./Seymour) and Fortune each added 11 points in the contest. The 11 points for Krause were a season high.
ABOUT McKENDREE
The Bearcats, who are playing its 11th and 12th GLVC games of the season, are led offensively by Fortune, who is averaging 12.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field, 39 percent from the 3-point line and 79 percent from the free throw line. She has scored in double figures in nine of 16 games and has pulled down seven or more boards in 10 games, including a career high 10 rebounds against both Blackburn and UIS. She is currently 20th in the league in scoring, 12th in rebounding, 10th in 3-point field goal percentage, seventh in 3-point field goals made (35) and fourth in 3-point field goal made per game (2.2).
In addition to Fortune, Breden is the team's No. 2 scorer as she is averaging 11.2 points per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field and 77 percent from the free throw line and has scored in double figures in a team-best 11 games, including three games of scoring 20 or more points. Breden has reached double figures in six of her last seven games and is averaging a team-best 12.5 points per game in GLVC play.
A third Bearcat, sophomore guard Erin Golden (Batavia, Ill./Batavia), is averaging over 8.5 points per game as she enters the week averaging 8.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 39 percent from the field and a GLVC-best 88.1 percent from the free throw line. She is tied with Breden for the team lead in made free throws with 37 and has made 21 consecutive free throws since a 1-2 for effort at the line against Lewis on Dec. 4.
Four players have scored over 100 points on the season for the Bearcats as Fortune has tallied a team-leading 194 points, while Breden has scored 191 points and Golden is third with 147 points. The fourth Bearcat with 100 points this season is junior guard Kaelyn Froebe (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln), who has tallied 103 points.
As a team, McKendree is averaging 52.8 points per game and is allowing 71.3 points per game and is shooting 35.3 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from the 3-point line and 73.5 percent from the free throw line. Additionally, the Bearcats are getting outrebounded by nearly nine boards per game and are averaging 7.1 steals per game, which is 10th in the latest league statistics. Six Bearcats led by Golden's 21 have collected 10 or more steals on the season. In addition to Golden, Breden has had 20 steals, while senior guard Haley Zylka (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) has had 16 steals, Froebe has had 14 steals and Fortune has had 13 steals.
Defensively, the Bearcats opponents are shooting 44 percent from the field, 34 percent from the 3-point line and 73 percent from the free throw line and their foes have scored 70 or more points in 10 games. The Bearcats are one of the top teams in Division II at not fouling as they are committing just 13.6 fouls per game, which is 12th-best in NCAA Division II women's basketball. On the season, the Bearcats have recorded a total of 231 fouls in 17 games.
McKendree is coached by Kari Kerkhoff and she is 70-106 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 ROCKHURST
Rockhurst, who plays at Southern Indiana on Friday before coming to Lebanon, comes into this week's action having lost three of its last four games to push its overall record to 10-7 and its GLVC record to 6-5. The Hawks' lone win in its last four games came at home last Saturday as they posted a 58-57 win over Lindenwood. The latest loss for Rockhurst was an 82-68 setback at home on Monday against Illinois-Springfield. Rockhurst has been strong away from home this season as the Hawks are 6-4 on the road, including being 3-2 on the road in GLVC play.
The Hawks are one of the top defensive teams in the league as they are fourth in scoring defense as they are allowing 65.5 points per game, and they also lead the league in both field goal defense (37.4 percent) and three-point field goal defense (27.1 percent). Additionally, Rockhurst is one of the top rebounding teams in the league as they lead the league in rebounding at 40.6 boards per game and are blocking 3.1 shots per game.
Offensively, Rockhurst is averaging 65.2 points per game and are shooting 39 percent from the field and 35 percent from the 3-point line and is fourth in the league in free throw shooting at 73.4 percent.
Leading the way offensively for the Hawks is graduate student guard Daly Sullivan, who is averaging 16.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field, 40 percent from the 3-point line and 76 percent from the free throw line. She is averaging 2.4 made treys per game and has scored in double figures in four straight games and 13 games overall on the season, including a season-high 33 points earlier this season against Washburn.
In addition to Sullivan, the No. 2 scorer for the Hawks is Sullivan's sister, sophomore guard/forward Keegan Sullivan as she is averaging 12.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 36 percent from the field and 84 percent from the free throw line and has blocked 10 shots and has made 15 treys.
Rockhurst is coached by Larry Park, who is in his 13th season with the Hawks. Park has compiled a 126-205 record with the Hawks and is 68-162 in GLVC games with the Hawks.
Saturday's game will mark the 10th all-time meeting between the two schools with Rockhurst holding a 6-3 lead in the series. The Bearcats have won three of the last four games in the series, including picking up a 62-55 win last season in Kansas City, Mo. Rockhurst has won all four games played in the series in Lebanon, while McKendree leads 3-2 at Rockhurst. Kerkhoff is 3-4 against Rockhurst as McKendree's coach.
ABOUT SOUTHWEST BAPTIST
The Southwest Baptist Bearcats, who play at UMSL on Saturday, before facing McKendree on Monday, comes into play this weekend sporting an 11-9 overall record and a 6-6 mark in the GLVC following its 58-55 win last Saturday against Maryville. The win snapped a two-game losing skid for SBU, including an 82-56 loss at No. 4 ranked Drury University. SBU is 4-5 in the New Year and are 5-4 away from home on the season, including a 3-3 mark on the road in GLVC play.
The Bearcats of SBU are averaging 68.5 points per game and have scored 70 or more points in eight games, including a high point game of 100 in a 100-47 win on Dec. 30 over Hannibal-La Grange. In addition to scoring 68.5 points per game, SBU is shooting 43 percent from the field and are third in the GLVC in three-point shooting at 35.7 percent.
Defensively, SBU is second in the league in scoring defense as they are allowing just 61.9 points per game and have held nine opponents under 60 points but are allowing 66.3 points per game in GLVC play. Additionally, the Bearcats are third in the league in steals as they are averaging 9.1 per game and are fifth in the league in blocked shots as they are averaging 3.0 per game.
SBU senior guard Kyleigh Vaught is the lone Bearcat player averaging in double figures on the season as she is averaging 14.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game and is shooting 40 percent from the field, 39 percent from the 3-point line and 84 percent from the free throw line and has a 1.62 assist/turnover ratio. Vaught has tallied double figures in scoring 13 times, including six games of scoring 20 or more points.
In addition to Vaught, senior guard Nyah Pettus is second in scoring at 9.5 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 6.6 boards per game and is shooting 56 percent from the field and has blocked 17 shots, while freshman guard Emma Perry is averaging 7.8 points per game and 2.1 made treys per game and has made a league-best 42 treys and is shooting 33 percent from the 3-point line and 80 percent at the free throw line.
Kelsey Keizer is in her eighth season as SBU's head coach and has compiled an 87-104 overall record and is 20-31 in the GLVC.
Monday's game will mark just the sixth meeting all-time in the series as SBU holds a slight 3-2 edge in the series as SBU has won two straight games in the series, including a 72-62 win last season in Bolivar, Mo. SBU holds a 2-1 lead at McKendree, but the series is tied 1-1 in Bolivar. Kerkhoff is 2-2 as McKendree's coach against Southwest Baptist.
UP NEXT
Following this weekend's action, McKendree will hit the road for two games next week as they open the road trip with a 5:30 p.m. game on Thursday, Feb. 10 in Rolla, Mo., against Missouri S&T, before concluding the road trip on Saturday, Feb. 12 with a 1 p.m. game against No. 4 ranked Drury.
