LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree University women's basketball returns to the road this week for two Great Lakes Valley Conference games across the Mississippi River in the state of Missouri against Missouri S&T and ninth-ranked Drury University.

The Bearcats will open its trip to Missouri on Thursday, Feb. 10 with 5:30 p.m. game in Rolla, Mo., against Missouri State, before traveling to Springfield, Mo., for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday, Feb. 12 against Drury University.

This week's game against Missouri S&T and Drury will be the only meetings this season for the Bearcats against those two schools and will mark McKendree's 10th and 11th road games of the 2021-22 season.

McKendree, who is currently 13th in the most recent GLVC TicketSmarter Point Rating System with a PRS rating of 2.17, comes into this week's action sporting a 3-16 overall record and 2-10 mark in the GLVC after dropping back-to-back home games last weekend against Rockhurst and Southwest Baptist. The Bearcats have now lost three straight games since earning a 58-48 win at William Jewell on Jan. 27.

The Bearcats have struggled away from home this season as they are 1-8 on the road this season, including being 1-4 on the road in GLVC play with that lone win coming in its most recent trip to Missouri two weeks ago.

Against Rockhurst last Saturday, the Bearcats were outscored 30-10 in the first quarter against the Hawks in the 88-58 setback. Rockhurst was also buoyed by 11 3-pointers in the game as McKendree made just six treys. In the game, second-year freshman guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill./Jerseyville Community) led the way offensively with a team-high 17 points, while sophomore guard Erin Golden (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) added 11 points and redshirt senior guard Sydney Diekhoff (Pekin, Ill./Pekin Community) chipped in with 10 points off the bench.

In the home game on Monday against Southwest Baptist, McKendree was held to 46 points, outscored, 33-21 in the first half and committed 19 turnovers that led to 21 points in the 76-46 setback to the Bearcats of SBU. Breden once again led the way offensively as she tallied 13 points, while Diekhoff added 10 points in her first start of the season and junior guard Kaelyn Froebe (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln) pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds as McKendree was outrebounded by just one board, 38-37.

ABOUT McKENDREE
The Bearcats, who are playing their 13th and 14th GLVC games of the season, 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 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 18 games and has pulled down seven or more boards in 10 games. She is currently tied for 10th in the league in rebounding, 13th in 3-point field goal percentage, eighth in 3-pointers made (37) and fourth in 3-pointers made per game (2.2).  

Meanwhile, Breden is averaging 11.6 points per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field and 76 percent from the free throw line and is third in assists (30) and second in steals (21) and has scored in double figures in four consecutive games and a team-best 13 games and had led the team in scoring in eight games. In GLVC, Breden is averaging 12.9 points per game.

Five players have scored over 100 points on the season for the Bearcats as Breden leads the way with a team high 221 points, while Fortune has tallied 201 points and Golden has scored 166 points. The other two Bearcats with over 100 points this season are Froebe (117 points) and Diekhoff (112 points).

One the biggest strengths this season for the Bearcats has been their ability to shoot free throws as they enter this week's action seventh in the league in free throw shooting at 73.2 percent, including shooting 74.8 percent from the line in GLVC play. Over its last six games, the Bearcats have made 101 of its last 126 free throws (80.1 percent). Senior guard Jenna Krause (Seymour, Wis./Seymour) leads the way as she is shooting 94.7 percent (18-for-19) from the line and she has made 17 consecutive free throws. In addition to Krause, Golden ranks third in the league in free throw shooting at 85.4 percent as she is 41-for-48 from the line on the year and has made 25 of her last 29 free throws.

As a team, McKendree is scoring nearly 53 points per game and is allowing 72.4 points per game and is shooting 35 percent from the field and 28 percent from the 3-point line and are getting outrebounded by 8.5 boards per games and is averaging 6.8 steals per game, which is 10th in the league. Six Bearcats led by Golden's 22 have collected 10 or more steals on the season. In addition to Golden, Breden has had 21 steals, senior guard Haley Zylka (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) has had 18 steals, Froebe has had 15 steals and Fortune has had 14 steals.

Defensively, the Bearcats opponents are shooting 44 percent from the field, 35 percent from the 3-point line and 72 percent from the free throw line and their foes have scored 70 or more points in 12 games. The Bearcats are one of the top teams in Division II at not fouling as they are committing just 13.8 fouls per game, which is 18th-best in NCAA Division II women's basketball. On the season, the Bearcats have recorded a total of 262 fouls in 19 games and that is 20th among all Division II schools.

McKendree is coached by Kari Kerkhoff and she is 70-108 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 MISSOURI S&T
Missouri S&T, who is tied for 11th with Maryville in the most recent GLVC TicketSmarter Point Rating System with a PRS rating of 2.62, comes into action this week having lost three straight games and four of its last five overall with the lone win being a 78-56 home victory over Rockhurst on Jan. 22. The Miners are sporting a 7-12 overall record and are 4-9 in the GLVC. Since its win over Rockhurst, S&T has lost at home to UIndy (76-74), at then No. 4 ranked Drury (71-59) and at Maryville (70-67) in its most recent game last Saturday.

The Miners are one of the top teams in the league at forcing turnovers as they are forcing 16.5 per game and are sixth in the league in steals as they average 8.2 per contest and are blocking 3.2 shots per game, which is third-best in the league. Seven Miners have collected 10 or more steals on the season, including fifth-year senior Marla Durk leading the way with 33 steals.

On offense, S&T is averaging 66.7 points per game and is shooting 42 percent from the field and 33 percent from the 3-point line and is getting outrebounded by 3.5 boards per game, while on defense, the Miners are allowing 67.5 points per game and their opponents are shooting 41 percent from the field and 32 percent from long distance.

Leading the charge offensively for S&T is senior guard Laura Rodriguez, who is averaging 14.2 points per game and is shooting 39 percent from the field, 35 percent from the 3-point line and 84 percent from the free throw line. Rodriguez, who recently became the 17th Miner player to score 1,000 career points, has tallied 14 double-digit scoring games on the season, including a high of 28 points against Rockhurst.

In addition to Rodriguez, senior center Alex Kerr, who is another member of S&T's 1,000-Point Club, is averaging 13.0 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 6.6 boards per game and is shooting 55 percent from the field and has recorded two straight double-doubles and four overall double-doubles on the year.

S&T is coached by Kira Carter, who is in her second season at the helm of the Miners program. In her two seasons in Rolla, Carter has compiled an 11-29 overall record and is 8-26 in GLVC games.

There is one connection between S&T and McKendree as Missouri S&T's Director of Athletics is former Bearcat women's basketball coach Melissa Ringhausen. Ringhausen, who was inducted into McKendree's Sports Hall of Fame this past October, was the Bearcats coach from 1997-15 and compiled a 316-255 record at McKendree and has been S&T's Director of Athletics since July 13, 2020.

Thursday's game will mark the 12th all-time meeting between the two schools on the hardwood as McKendree holds a slight 6-5 edge in the series. The Bearcats have won five straight games in the series, including picking up an 86-81 win last season in Lebanon. The series is tied 3-3 in Rolla, while McKendree leads 3-2 at home.

ABOUT DRURY
The Drury University Lady Panthers, who host 25th-ranked Southern Indiana on Thursday before facing the Bearcats on Saturday for Homecoming, comes into action this week ranked ninth nationally in the latest WBCA Division II Coaches poll and is sporting a 22-3 overall record and a 12-2 mark in the GLVC. The Lady Panthers have won have won four of its last five games with the lone loss being a 75-65 setback last Friday at UMSL. Drury's other loss in league play came at Truman State (67-66) on Jan. 17. Drury, who were the NCAA Division II National Runners-up a season ago, are 11-0 at home this season and have won 18 consecutive home games, which is the fourth longest active streak in NCAA Division II women's basketball.

Drury leads the league in numerous statistical categories as they are leaders in free throw attempts (546), free throws made (390), scoring margin (+17.0), steals per game (13.3), 3-point field goal percentage defense (28.5 percent) and 3-point field goal percentage (37.3 percent). Additionally, Drury is third in the league in field goal percentage (44.9 percent) and scoring defense as they allow just 62.4 points per game and second in scoring offense as they average 79.5 points per game and has scored over 80 points in 10 games and is averaging 75.1 points per game in GLVC play.

Junior forward Alana Findley is the top offensive threat for the Lady Panthers as she is sixth in scoring as she averages 15.2 points per game and is pulling down 7.8 rebounds per game. In addition, she is shooting 51 percent from the field and has recorded seven double-doubles, which is tied for second-most in the league.
In addition to Findley, senior guard Kaylee DeMitz is averaging 13.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game and is shooting 40 percent from the field and leads the league in free throw shooting at 85.7 percent, while graduate student guard Payton Richards is averaging 7.7 points per game and is fourth in the GLVC in made treys with 44 and is shooting 43 percent from long distance on the year.

Amy Eagan is in her second season as Drury's coach and has compiled a 46-4 record with the Lady Panthers and is 233-146 in her 13th season as a collegiate coach. Prior to Drury, Eagan spent six seasons as the head coach at Truman State and posted a 111-62 mark at her alma mater. She was named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year last season after leading Drury to a 24-2 record and a national runner-up finish.

Saturday's game will mark the 13th all-time meeting in the series as Drury has won all 12 previous meetings, including collecting a 91-76 win last season in Lebanon. McKendree is 0-5 at home and at Drury in the series and the teams have faced each other twice in the GLVC Tournament on a neutral court.

UP NEXT
Following this week's action, the Bearcats will have its final homestand of the 2021-22 regular season next week as they host Lindenwood for Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 5:30 p.m. and then hosts Maryville for Senior Day, Pink Out Day and Alumni Day on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m.